Becklaw's Murder Mystery Tour (Jo Anderson Series) by Dane McCaslin

hoping that I could use this as a defense, Miss Lucinda cleared her throat with a loud ‘harrumph’, then began to speak.
    ‘I have to admit, Jo, that my finding you all was no accident. I have been concerned for a while about how my brother, well, about his death, its suddenness and the fact that we never saw a body or had a funeral. We’ve only had Beatrice’s word all these years.’ She stopped speaking, staring past me at some memory. She sighed, shaking her head as if to rejoin the real world.
    ‘When our mother passed away, my sister and I promised each other that we’d find out the truth of the matter, no matter how awful or how mundane. If it was true that he’d died in a boating accident and was never found, so be it. But if we found out that Beatrice or someone else had a hand in his disappearance, there would be hell to pay.
    ‘Unfortunately, my sister has also passed, leaving me the sole survivor of the Becklaw family. It’s up to me to find out the truth about Desmond and to reclaim anything that might still be rightfully our family’s.’ She stopped speaking, head down. I felt a wave of sadness for this woman whose entire family was gone, who was left with a nutter like Miss Bea.
    Wait a doggone minute, I mentally scolded myself. You just accused Miss Bea, sweet, kind, do-anything-for-anyone Miss Bea, of being as off her rocker as Crazy GreatAunt Opal.
    Well, that stood to reason, didn’t it? I knew the symptoms. I suppose I’d known all along that Miss Beatrice Becklaw, Proprietor of Becklaw’s Murder Mystery Tour, was a nut. Oh, boy. Where did that leave me? I guess I knew this entire escapade was too good to be true. The best thing for me, I thought wretchedly, was to get myself back to Copper, pack my belongings, and head back to Piney Woods.
    Or not. I couldn’t just up and leave Leslie to Miss Bea’s mercies. Or LJ. Or Derek. Or even Miss Lucinda, for that matter. I was going to have to stick it out, maybe give Miss Lucinda a hand with her investigation. Lord only knew what we’d uncover.
    But I was ready. I lifted my head, looked Lucinda Becklaw straight in the eyes and said, ‘You can count on me, Miss Lucinda.’
    If I had known what those seven words held in store for me, I would’ve sooner bitten my tongue than utter them.

Chapter Nine
    The rest of the day flew by on butterfly wings. That made perfect sense to me, since the butterflies were back in force in my stomach. I noticed Leslie was a little more subdued than usual, and that LJ was quiet as well, but that was par for the course for him. Derek alone seemed untouched by the nervous fingers of performance anxiety, and I was a tad jealous. And irritated. I was peeved that he seemed so rock-steady when it came to situations that would send the normal heart racing into overdrive while mine did everything but leap straight out of my chest.
    Oh well, I consoled myself. Karma would bite him in the butt one day. I just wanted it to be sooner rather than later so I could witness it.
    We had returned to the KOA and the sanctity of our respective trailers in order to ‘rest our eyes’, as my mother always says. I don’t know how much ‘resting’ the others’ eyes got, but mine certainly were lacking in that department. I played the conversation with Miss Lucinda over and over in my head, rethinking my decision to stay. I have to admit that I was thoroughly torn.
    I had just convinced myself to pack it in when a knock sounded on my door. With a grumble obvious in my tone, I said, ‘It’s open.’ I was not up to receiving visitors the way I was currently feeling.
    Leslie’s worried face peeked around the corner of the open door, hesitating for a moment before coming inside all the way. I guess my tone threw her off; I’m not normally the group grump.
    ‘Er, Jo? You got a minute?’ She sounded a bit anxious, so I sighed, sat up, and patted the bed next to me.
    ‘Have a sit, Leslie. What’s on your mind?’ I needed to get