Paradise Palms: A Murder Mystery in a Time-Traveling Trailer Park. Kindle|CreateSpace

Sam

Sam popped out of the open hatch and aimed his rifle in all directions. The sun was brighter than he’d expected and he allowed a minute for his eyes to adjust to the light. Nothing moved, but the stench of the place overwhelmed him. He looked out in all directions, taking in the small group of buildings that stood out in stark contrast to the vast, dense jungle that surrounded them. Sam had thought time travel would be painful for some reason. In fact, it was nothing more than a change of scenery.

“Is there anyone out there?” Girlfriend called up.

Sam climbed back down the small ladder and sat back in the driver’s seat, looking out the large front windows, tinted enough to keep the glare of the sun off them. Tiger Lily, Lin, and Girlfriend all looked at him expectantly.

“No one is out there. I saw her car. Let’s drive up there first. Maybe she’s still in there.”

Sam started to roll forward. Doc Brenner had told him that he’d have fifteen minutes to get the car off the pad before the pad returned to the present time.

The car, if you could call something the size of a school bus with six huge wheels a car, rolled forward with only the whir of an electric motor. The solar cells that covered the exterior of the space-age looking vehicle would supply enough power for the motor and all the comforts of home that Doc had installed. Doc’s son, Clive, had wanted to do some deep exploration, but obviously couldn’t wait until the car was built.

The car came equipped with three beds, a small kitchen, even a bathroom. This was a dream RV for someone like Sam. He could go anywhere in it, road or no road. Sam had driven a lot of vehicles from backhoes to trucks, from automatic to stick shift, but never had he driven anything that rolled so smoothly and effortlessly across the ground. Just a slight press on the accelerator joysticks and the thing moved.

No sooner did Sam start forward to investigate the severed car when he spotted Myra running out of a small cabin and waving her arms frantically. Sam slammed on the brakes. His body lurched forward.

“I guess we found her,” he said.

“Myra!” Girlfriend yelled. She was the first up the hatch and outside. Lin and Tiger Lily quickly followed.

Sam’s heart stopped pounding. The sudden stop jarred him even though he’d been only slightly rolling forward. He released his grip from the steering device, two handles like an old ATV would use to control the wheels on either side of the vehicle, and followed the girls outside.

Although the sun shone brightly and it was far warmer and muggier than it was in the future Minnesota, Sam was glad he’d convinced the girls to change clothes. They all had changed into pants and long sleeve shirts. Girlfriend and he wore plain shirts, Lin and Tiger Lily had put on black jeans and matching black, Metallica t-shirts. At least they’d changed. Sam had encouraged them all to bring coats just in case they needed something to keep warm at night.

The car had been equipped with blankets and bedding that would do if they needed to be outside at night, for some reason. Sam didn’t know what to expect and Doc hadn’t given them much to go by. Other than “Be careful,” and “Follow the GPS to Clive,” they were pretty much going to have to wing it.

At least the first step in their journey had ended well. They’d arrived and found Myra. Now they just needed to find the police officer that had fallen down and gotten lost. Once they’d found the two of them, they could head out into the wilderness and find Clive. That task would be simple, as the GPS device and the satellite link up would lead them straight to him.

It sounded that simple, at least.

Myra hugged the girls aggressively. She even hugged Sam when he’d climbed off the car.

“Thank God you’re here. I was so scared. I mean, not just being here, but of that thing. What is that?”

Sam said, “That’s what Doc sent us here in. He wants us to go and find his son.”

“No, we can’t go out there,” Myra pointed to the plains and lake that lay just beyond the trees.

“Why?”

“We’ll cause a time paradox. If we’re truly in the past, we could do something that could disrupt life as we know it on Earth.”

“We talked with Doc about that. He assured us that nothing like that would happen. We just need to head out there, not bother anything, and bring Clive back.”

“Clive?”

“That’s Doc’s son. First, though, did you see the officer?”

“What officer? I heard gunshots last night.”

Sam’s ears perked up. “Gunshots?”

“Yes, over that way, I think. I was too scared to go and look, so I just…” Myra turned away. Girlfriend hugged her.

“I’m going to see what happened over there.” Sam pulled the rifle off his shoulder and walked purposefully to the woods. He looked back at the girls. “Why don’t all of you either go inside the cabin or inside the car. Just stay out of sight.”

Tiger Lily looked offended, as did Girlfriend, but they all went inside the cabin and watched from the window. Sam only started off again when he was sure they were all safe inside. He didn’t like ordering them around, but someone had to take charge, and he certainly wasn’t about to take orders from any of them. He was the only one who had any experience in the wilds of Minnesota, and he doubted it would be much different here. Sam took a deep breath and penetrated the foliage at the edge of the encampment.

The dirt sloped down and deep into the growth. The rising sun was instantly blotted out. Sam tried to enter the woods where he thought they’d found Casper’s body. He stepped slowly with the rifle at the ready. He wasn’t going to let anything take him by surprise. If the officer had fired shots, he might be hiding down here and shoot at anything moving. Sam cursed himself for not getting the man’s name.

“Hello!” Sam yelled and froze, waiting for a response. None came.

He took several more steps into the woods. The undergrowth cleared slightly, but the overhead canopy kept much light from getting down to the ground, which was moist and spongy. Little footprints of some small animals littered the ground, as well as some larger prints the size of Sam’s thirteens. Something rustled in a bush; Sam spun in that direction and froze. Slowly he raised the rifle and took aim. His hunter’s instinct took over and he waited for whatever it was to reveal itself before he’d reveal himself by firing a shot.

“Don’t waste any shots and scare off the game,” his father’s voice said in his head. “Just stay still and wait. That’s all you need to do.”

Sam had no intention of moving until he knew if this was a threat or something else. Something jumped out of the bush and leapt to a nearby tree. The thing looked almost like a bird, blue and yellow feathers with a lizard head, and skittered up the tree and jumped off, then soared to another tree, and another until it was out of sight. Sam lowered the gun and started to breathe normally again.

He tried to remember what the area where the officer had disappeared looked like. He scanned about for footprints, human footprints, but nothing jumped out at him. He didn’t like being in an unknown area. He’d spent so much time in the Minnesota woods with oak, birch, and other trees he knew, smells he knew, and sounds he knew. The drone of bugs, smell of some rotting animal, and plants he could barely recognize assailed his senses.

“Stay focused, Sam. Stay focused.”

Sam looked skyward, as if it would do any good. He felt suddenly lost and his head started to whirl and spin. He turned left, he turned right, and suddenly he didn’t know which way the camp lay. He needed to get out of the woods. He felt in danger. Fear gripped his chest and his breathing quickened. He had to get back to the camp, but where was it?

“Hello!” Sam shouted in a panic. This must be what happened to the officer. He panicked. Sam had to keep his head. Never let fear overtake you. Breathe deeply.

Sam tried to take a deep breath, but the sound of a tree groaning in protest halted his intake. Sam backed up against the nearest and largest tree and waited. The tree eventually gave way and snapped. It crashed down next to the tree Sam laid against. He almost laughed. Would the tree have made any noise if he hadn’t been there? His dad used to joke that they didn’t because he’d been quiet enough to trick the trees into thinking he wasn’t there.

Sam needed to be that quiet now. He tried to will his body to become one with the tree, to become hidden just as his father had been hidden to trick the trees into thinking he wasn’t there.

Loud breaths blasted out of massive nostrils. The sound was muddy. Sam knew it was because of the blood pounding in his veins due to his accelerated heart rate. He’d felt this when he’d confronted his first bear. That had turned out well, but Sam had been told what to expect. This situation was all new and he had no idea what to expect.

Sam chanced a glance to either side. Large feet pressed into the mushy ground and grew nearer with each passing heartbeat. A massive snout, pebbled in texture and red in color, appeared to Sam’s right. Sam tensed. The snout swung toward Sam and rubbed against the tree. Sam didn’t move. Just like a rutting deer or bear, this thing must be marking its territory. If Sam made any movement, it’d see him for sure. All he had to do was nothing.

It moved on and Sam watched as it strode into the woods. The beast had to be at least thirty or forty feet long, but the way it walked stood no taller than eight or nine feet high, its head and tail perfectly balanced over massive legs. Tiny arms, held tight to its body, served no purpose.

It stopped and cocked its head to the side, as if it was listening to something. The head rose slightly and moved from side to side, slowly as if to listen more intently. What could it be hearing? Sam watched in horror as it turned and started through the thick undergrowth and up a small incline.

“No.” It was headed toward the cabin. Toward the girls. Sam was certain that had to be the direction of the encampment. He had to do something. He couldn’t let that thing get up there. He raised the rifle and took aim. He wondered, as he squeezed the trigger, just how much good a little bullet would do against a monster like that.

The report of the rifle caught the beast’s attention. Sam wasn’t even sure if the bullet had penetrated until he saw a small trickle of blood appear on the hindquarters. It roared and charged.

Sam had been charged at before. Deer and moose don’t take too kindly to being shot at. If you don’t hit them just right, they will come at you. Bears will usually charge just to frighten you off. This thing, with its beady eyes and massive teeth, had something else entirely in mind. It would charge down that little hill in a matter of seconds and eat him.

There was no time for thought, only action. Sam aimed between its eyes and fired. It stopped, shook its head, and restarted its charge.

“Damn!” The skull must be too thick to allow the bullet to penetrate.

Sam fired two more shots between the eyes. Again it stopped, but this time rubbed its head against a small, nearby tree, breaking the tree in the process. After a brief bout with the tree, it refocused on Sam. This pause gave Sam the only thought he could think. If the skull was too thick, he’d have to aim elsewhere. He aimed for one of the beady eyes and before the beast could charge again, fired.

The eye erupted in a gout of gore. The beast yowled in pain. A roar that made the woods quiet. It was so loud, Sam had to cover his ears, but he never took his eyes off the dinosaur. This is a dinosaur. I’m killing a dinosaur.

The beast had enough and ran into the woods, away from the encampment. Sam wanted to sit on the ground. He wanted to just let his body recover from the stress of encounter, but he didn’t have the luxury. The sounds of battle could attract more of those things. The smell of blood in the air might bring any assortment of monsters to this area. He couldn’t risk that. He had to hurry and see if he could find any trace of the officer and get back to the car so they could all be inside and safe. He had to hurry.

Paradise Palms: A Murder Mystery in a Time-Traveling Trailer Park. Kindle|CreateSpace

Myra

The sun rose and Myra opened her eyes. She gasped, thinking she’d missed all the activities of the night before and that the crash had been a dream, but it hadn’t. She looked around and could see that she was indeed in a jungle, next to some oddly-placed encampment. She rubbed her eyes and looked all around the car; the highway was gone, the woods were now jungle, and the trailer park had indeed been replaced by a set of small buildings.

Nothing stirred in the woods. At least that was one small saving grace. She’d heard noises all through the night. She pulled her coat tightly about herself. She had to leave the car. That much was obvious. What wasn’t so obvious was if something watched her. Reptiles could be nocturnal, but were primarily daytime creatures. The buildings weren’t very far away. She could make a run for it. She’d just have to hope that the doors were unlocked.

She looked down at the locked door of the car and laughed. If a dinosaur really wanted in, there was probably little she could do to stop it. She wondered how the little buildings could prevent them from getting in. She sat up straight and looked at the ground and couldn’t see any visible footprints. There were an awful lot of tracks in the dirt like those of a front loader, but there wasn’t any heavy equipment nearby.

She chanced opening the door that she’d so frightfully locked when she’d arrived in the night. It didn’t squeak as she’d suspected a car that had crashed would, but then she really hadn’t crashed, had she? She’d passed through the barrier that Sam had proposed. Only, she was now on the wrong side. Based on all the evidence, she was in prehistoric times, and would need to deal with prehistoric creatures.

Getting out of the car took a great deal of willpower. Every rustle of leaves, every chirp or buzz of insect made her want to jump back into the confines of the car, but she had to get out. There had to be someone in the buildings. Black smoke issued forth from one building that sat off near a bank of solar panels. Myra assumed it must be a power generator.

The other three buildings were all different sizes, but larger than the smoky building. Only one had windows and this must be the one the person lived in. She took a deep breath and started walking toward the building.

Something smelled really bad. At first she wanted to blame the black smoke of the generator, but it wasn’t an oily smell. It was more the smell of rotting flesh. Almost as if something big nearby had died. She wondered if it was the other part of the hadrosaur they’d seen down by the lake, but that would be impossible, or the one on her side would be just as smelly. It wasn’t. It had to be something else.

A rustle from the bushy ferns on the edge of the clearing prompted her forward. She trotted to the cabin. As she ran, she could see large bolts across the double, barn-style doors on the other two buildings. Perhaps one housed some other equipment that must have been used to create this large, flat area, but she didn’t want to take the time to peek inside. She needed to get the attention of the person inside the house.

Myra ran to the door and stared pounding on it. “Let me in! Open the door.”

She tried the knob and the door swung inward. She stood and looked stupidly at the open door before entering.

“Hello? Is anyone in here?” She looked around for a light switch. Despite the windows, the interior of the cabin was still dim. The switch was an old-style, twist knob. She gave it a turn and with a loud clack, the lights came on. She closed the door.

“Hello?”

The cabin had only one room. That much was obvious. She could see the windows on all four walls of the building. On the far wall sat the bed, unmade, and a small bachelor dresser. On top of it rested a gas lantern. A bookshelf held a small collection of books and a large set of binoculars. From the titles Myra could tell they were all about paleontology and dinosaurs.

She flipped through a couple volumes. Notes had been made next to some of the species such as “Coloration is wrong. The hadrosaur females are brightly colored and the males are a dull-brown.” And “I don’t think the beasts ever shut up. I had thought with the nightfall they’d stop all the honking, but it’s so warm, they just keep on going. Do they ever sleep?” She laughed. She’d found a treasure trove of knowledge, but if no one knew she was here, she could likely be trapped here forever. She returned the book to the shelf.

On one wall hung a small ice chest and a set of cabinets. On the counter lay a hotplate with a blue, steel coffee pot upon it. She touched it and wasn’t surprised to find it cold. Perhaps the person had left early in the morning? She looked at her watch. It was only 7:00AM. Whoever lived in the cabin had to have heard her car when it arrived. Even over the drone of the bugs in the area the sudden appearance of a car skidding across the dirt would have attracted attention.

Myra took some time to peruse the contents of the cabinets and wasn’t surprised by anything she found. Simple canned goods, pots, pans, bowls and plates, utensils, and the like. Everything looked very plain, but clean. The entire cabin had a just-picked-up appearance.

The windows allowed Myra to look out over the valley and distant lake. As she neared the window, she could see writing on the window with small arrows pointing into the distance. She tried to focus on the writing, then into the distance to what it may be denoting.

The first arrow was labeled “Herd #12: first affected” and she could see many specks in the distance at the point of the arrow. She squinted and tried to make out what the specks could be, but couldn’t.

She returned to the bookshelf and retrieved the binoculars. They were heavier than she’d expected and she nearly dropped them. Her heart pounded. Could this be a herd of hadrosaurs? She licked her lips in anticipation as she put the cord of the binoculars over her head and lifted them to her eyes. It took several seconds and a few times adjusting the focus to get a clear image, but far off in the distance she could make out large dull, brown masses lying on the ground next to colorful and larger mounds. Each looked deformed and somehow out of place where they lay. Nothing around them moved.

She scanned slowly around the masses until she saw what looked like a head and then she knew she was looking at a large herd of dead hadrosaurs. She gasped. Dead? But how?

Myra lowered the binoculars and read more of the writing on the window. “Herd #2: forth affected, Herd #5 second affected.” It went on and on. It appeared that every herd on this particular window had been affected, but by what? Was some sort of disease killing off the herds of hadrosaur?

She looked around the cabin for someone to ask, but she was alone. Completely alone. The gravity of the situation struck her. She was stranded in the past, perhaps sixty or seventy million years in the past, or more. Not only was she the only human in the cabin, she was likely the only human on the planet. The person who’d lived here had left and could very likely be dead.

Slowly she took the binoculars off of her neck and walked to sit on the bed. Would they know she was here? They would have to, wouldn’t they? They’d surely find the front end of her car sitting in the road in the trailer park drive. They would know she was here and come for her. They would have too. But how could they do that? If the park shifted again, she’d be inside the camp. She’d have to run out of the camp and into the Minnesota woods to return to her own time. She couldn’t very well stay outside and wait. Just because the hadrosaurs were dead in the distance didn’t mean that predators and scavengers were as well. In fact, a large number of dead bodies would attract them like a magnet. She also couldn’t risk running that far, for if she didn’t make it in time, she’d be cut in half like Sam’s friend Casper.

Myra put her face in her hands and sobbed. She was trapped. She’d always dreamed of returning to the land of the dinosaurs and seeing them in their natural habitat, but had never thought of something like this. In her dreams, the hadrosaurs would eat from her hands like the giraffe had at the zoo. She’d be able to walk among them unmolested and pet them and study them and take endless notes that would be published. She’d become famous for her research. Her dream had turned into a nightmare.

Fear gripped her as she thought about going outside and visions of tiny raptors and troodons came to her mind. Even a tyrannosaurus might be stalking around the massive buffet on those plains. She was not only trapped in the pre-historic era, but she was trapped inside a cabin with no hope of ever leaving again.

She turned and planted her face in the pillow and cried hard, fear and frustration overtaking her. She was never going to go home. Never. She would be trapped here forever. She was going to die here.

The realization of her own demise was interrupted by the whirring of a motor. Not the loud rumble of a gas-powered motor, but the sound of a large electrical motor. Myra sprang up and wiped the tears from her eyes. A quick scan of all the windows revealed a large, black vehicle sitting just to the south of the building. It had narrow, heavily-tinted windows and huge, thick tires. An all-terrain vehicle that could easily travel over the rugged ground here. The entire top of it was covered with solar cells.

A hatch on the top opened. Myra wanted to duck down, but also wanted to see who would come out. Was this the person who lived here, or had someone actually come to rescue her? She moved to the side of the window and watched.

Paradise Palms: A Murder Mystery in a Time-Traveling Trailer Park. Kindle|CreateSpace

Lin

Doc Brenner set down his drink, sat back, and crossed his hands over his stomach. He looked like a man defeated. Lin had difficulty figuring out why he would react like that. Hadn’t he just gotten what he wanted? Hadn’t he?

The lights in his eyes came back. “I know. Would you all like to see it?”

“It?” Sam asked, his tone still surly and untrusting.

“The machine. It’s actually quite impressive. It took Clive and me a several months to get everything up here from the cities. It’s quite impressive, if I do say so myself.”

Lin wanted to jump and yell “Yes!” but Sam spoke first. She couldn’t remember him ever being so rude. It was really quite strange as she always thought he was such a nice guy.

“If I see your machine, I’m liable to smash it as much as appreciate it. I’ll pass.”

“I’d like to see it,” Lin said, springing up from her seat.

“Splendid. Anyone else care to join us?”

“Of course,” Tiger Lily added.

Girlfriend stood and gave Sam a dark glare. He bowed his head, took off his hat and scratched his head. “I guess if everyone else is going. . .”

“Wonderful. Just follow me. Oh, and pardon the mess. I’m not much at keeping house, but you know that, don’t you Girlfriend?”

Girlfriend laughed. Sam groaned.

The hallway of the double-wide was spacious enough. Lin almost wished she’d gotten a larger trailer like this one, but then she’d have to keep that much more in order. Her place was just the right size, and she didn’t need to have more space.

He led them into a room and fished a set of keys out of his pocket.

“So this is where you hide out when I’m cleaning,” said Girlfriend.

Doc laughed. “Heavens no. This is just the elevator.”

“Elevator? I never installed an elevator for you.”

“Well, it’s more of a lift floor. You see, this was one of the first things Clive and I had to install. All the equipment from our lab was quite heavy and not much could support it. Of course we had to put in a set of doors in the roof so the crane could lower things down.”

“Crane?” Sam sounded as if he didn’t believe any of what Doc was saying.

“Oh, I assure you, it wasn’t easy to keep all that quiet, but we did manage. Obviously. Most everything arrived in crates so each shipment would be dropped into this room and lowered into the new lab.”

Doc opened the doors, and sure enough it looked like a large elevator, with its stainless steel walls and diamond-plate flooring. They all entered and Doc took up position next to a small console with a display and a few buttons. He punched in a code, not bothering to hide the buttons, and the room’s door closed.

“Sam, I’m sure you’ll appreciate the modifications that have been made to the basement you first dug out. First of all, we had to expand the basement. That wasn’t as difficult, being able to transport large quantities of dirt and shore up the walls with steel beams. Once we transported all the dirt to the new base camp in the past, we just used the front loader to push it around and even out the terrain. It was quite a good system.”

“Wait a minute, are you telling us that you transported a front loader into the past?”

“Oh, yes. As well as some other equipment such as a power generator, gasoline tank, propane, solar panels, and other machinery. We had to keep the base running on the other side. Can’t do that without modern conveniences.”

The elevator moved slowly. Lin reached out and grasped Tiger Lily’s hand more out of anticipation than fear. Tiger Lily pulled her closer. The air grew colder as the elevator descended. Lin wished she’d put on pants instead of the thin shorts she wore. She could feel goosebumps on Tiger Lily’s arm as well.

For going down only one level the elevator seemed to be taking a long time. It was moving slowly, but not that slowly. When it finally stopped, Doc punched in another code and the doors opened. Lin leaned around Sam to look out the doors and gasped.

The room beyond defied what she’d been prepared to see. It extended off into the distance and banks of lights kept turning on revealing more of it. Rows and rows of computer banks ran along one side of the large room and a series of tables and workbenches sat at the foreground of the room, but the dominant structure told Lin her eyes were lying. If she hadn’t been looking at it, she wouldn’t believe it existed.

It stood nearly forty feet and almost touched the ceiling. It appeared to be a large, mesh globe set slightly off center with branches extending in different directions, each terminating with a tiny white light. Each little light had a black speck that floated around it. The entire mass was suspended in the air with no visible supports. The floor beneath it gave way to a massive expansive hole that had no light and the bottom had to be far below.

“How?” Sam asked.

“Oh, I assure you, it was a lot of long days and sleepless nights. Clive and I had the same passion when we built it. Moving it here wasn’t as difficult and once we had a portion of it in place, we were able to start the further excavation. Small amounts at first, and we didn’t care where they wound up until we could send larger amounts. Finally we sent the front loader and Clive leveled a large area for the base camp. I think you’ll be impressed with it once you see it. In fact, it sits on the same location as this trailer park does now. Rather ironic that the Paradise Palms has a twin that really does have palms.” Doc Brenner laughed at his own joke.

“I don’t believe it. I just don’t.”

“Sam, shut up,” Girlfriend said.

Lin pulled Tiger Lily forward, refusing to let go of her hand. “Doc, how does it work?”

“Lin, it would take me years to explain it to you.”

“Try me,” Lin said with a smile.

“Well, let me see if I can make this simple enough for all of you to understand. I won’t go into the mechanics. Think of time as a linear event. For us, time moves forward and only forward. Unidirectional. When you think about space, it’s all over in every direction and for all intents and purposes, it’s infinite. What Clive and I discovered was a sort of fabric in space-time. We thought that by bending the space-time, we could transport items across a distance. Think of it like a piece of paper.”

Doc rushed to a table and picked up a piece of paper. With a pen he drew two dots on the paper, one on either end. “Now when you look at these two points, it’s logical to assume that the shortest distance is a straight line, right? But what if you could fold the paper? Now you could go from one point to the next instantly. In fact, they’d take up the same space for a short period of time.

“All that was simple enough for Clive and me to start our experiments. I had ample money and funded the project myself. We were able to get it to work, but not precisely as we had assumed.

“Remember when I said space-time, not just space? It seems that the fabric doesn’t just consist of points in this time, but all times. Time in the universe isn’t constant, and all points are connected to all other points. When we performed our fold, we connected two points in different times as well as different spaces. Think of it as a million different pieces of paper stacked up on the floor, and you want to connect point A on the top sheet to point z somewhere in the middle of the stack. It takes the same amount of energy because you’re just folding. Space folds easily, in fact.”

Lin processed the information and said, “So what you mean is you can actually connect the past with the present because the fold crosses time as well as space, but wouldn’t that mean that your son might actually be on a different planet? Not just on the same planet at a different time?”

“Oh, smart girl. I had thought the same thing. Look at the floor here.”

On the floor stones spelled out “Hello Dad.”

“That’s a seventy-five million year old note from my son. That’s how we figured out that we’re still on Earth. That’s when we decided to launch the satellite to map out the world.”

“So how is it that what he’s doing back there isn’t changing the world as we know it today? I mean, wouldn’t the crushing of a butterfly cause the world to be a different place or something like that?”

“Ah, the paradox effect. We had thought long and hard about that one. We concluded that the impact we’d have on the past world would be so small as to be insignificant. Think of it like crushing an ant. To the colony, it might have a small impact, but in the long run, there are millions of more ants to be had in the future. So where you may think that a small impact would grow to be devastating to our world today, the exact opposite is true, where the impact made on the past is less significant to our present because too many events happen in the time between. Time has a way of smoothing out the creases in the space-time fabric, so to speak.”

Lin looked up at the massive machine. It currently stood motionless save the tiny black specks. She wondered what it would look like in full motion.

“Couldn’t we calculate the correct coordinates of where your son is and teleport the people there? I mean, I understand what you were saying about the planet movement and all that, but can’t you shift the fold slightly and drop off the recovery people where they could be of the most benefit?”

“There’s the issue. We tried that, teleporting from say here to there, and making a minor change from here to way over there, for instance. The problem we kept running into is that the planet topography isn’t the same. All the dirt that was cleared out of this location was deposited in the past and leveled out to make the home base there. That’s a lot of dirt and a very different landscape. We could accidentally teleport people into a tree, and that wouldn’t end pretty.”

“What if you sent something ahead first, something inanimate, to see if it would survive? Or bring back what was there to clear the area first? Wouldn’t it be possible to do what you did in this basement in reverse?”

“Clever, but it’d take time, and Clive has been on the move for a couple of months. We might be able to get them closer, but I think it’d be better to send back a vehicle and drive to him. Something faster than the front loader.”

“I’ve got my quad, but it wouldn’t hold enough gas to go far enough out and back. I mean, I could put some five gallon gas tanks on the trailer, but that’d really slow my progress.”

Lin was happy to see Sam warming up the idea of going back. That was the Sam she knew.

“Sam,” Doc said. “I don’t think you understand my proposal. I’ve got a vehicle that Clive and I were preparing to take back and drive around. I must assume that he’s on the front loader, as it’s the only thing that could provide him enough protection from the wildlife there. A simple hadrosaur isn’t a meat eater, but it’ll protect its young. Something weighing five tons will make your day real bad.”

“I see your point.”

“That being said, your little quad would never be sufficient. I shall make sure that you not only have proper transportation, but that you have ample fuel and weapons. I really do want to know what has become of my son, Sam.”

Sam looked up at the machine. “And that’s not going to be ready for a while, eh?”

“Perhaps five hours, but I’d like to give it at least six hours just to make sure I can keep it going long enough to get all of you back there.”

Sam frowned and looked at Girlfriend, Lin, and Tiger Lily all in turn. “I’m not going to take any arguments, but none of you are coming with me.”

Paradise Palms: A Murder Mystery in a Time-Traveling Trailer Park. Kindle|CreateSpace

Sam

Sam unhitched the trailer from the quad and, as politely as he could in his present state of mind, moved Doc Brenner out of the way. He wanted to throw the old man to the ground, but seeing what was on the road was more pressing. It was all he could do at this point to control his anger, but at least knowing what had killed his friend had appeased a part of his brain; now he just had to control his need for vengeance.

Sam sped out of the woods past the paramedics and up to the road. The three officers were running up the small incline to the smoking remains of what must’ve been a car. Sam recognized the front end of the Celica instantly. The color was the same as Myra’s car. He slowed as he neared the car. Scrape marks showed where the sliding started and he wasn’t surprised to see that they started at the line of Doc Brenner’s circle.

He made one circuit around the car remains. Just as with Casper’s body and Andrew’s arm, the car had been severed cleanly. It had been cut before the firewall, so Myra could have survived. The only question was where had the rest of her car gone? Had she continued to slide into whatever was in place of the trailer park when it’d gone into the past? Was that even possible? Sam had to guess it was.

He got off the quad and looked over the car carefully. He got an eerie feeling looking at the clean marks that separated this part of the car from the rest. He wondered what Myra was thinking at that moment. If she could think. For all Sam knew she was dead already.

“What should we do with it?” One officer asked.

Sam shrugged. “I guess we just get it off the road. I don’t have a chain, so we’ll have to push it.”

They did just that, and having the front tires still attached made it easy enough to move it to the side of the road. Sam would have to call a wrecking truck in the morning to haul it away.

Sam remounted his quad and rode back down to where the rest waited. The paramedics had already bundled up Detective Schneider and were loading him into the ambulance. Sam passed them and went into the woods. Girlfriend, Lin, Tiger Lily and Doc Brenner were all gone. All the equipment was still there, but the rest of them had gone. Sam scanned the woods and saw their shadows walking through the woods toward Doc’s trailer. At least he had to assume that’s where they were going. Sam headed in their direction.

Something in his head told him to remain calm, but another side said he should run the Doc down for what he’d done. Never had Sam felt so angry about what another person had done. He had never hurt anyone, but then nothing like this had ever happened in his life. Doc Brenner had killed a friend, possibly a police officer, Myra Tolie, and maybe even his own son. How could someone be so negligent in allowing events like this to transpire; to put so many people at risk? Not only had he risked the lives of those already lost, but he’d risked everyone at the trailer park. They had never asked to be put into harm’s way, and didn’t deserve to remain ignorant.

Sam swallowed his anger and held his tongue as he rode up to the others. He found it terribly difficult to remain silent as Doc, minus his cane, walked with his arm around Girlfriend and Tiger Lily for support. He thought his blood might boil seeing the man helped along like that, but he didn’t want to explode again. He didn’t like it when he did, and he was sure that Girlfriend didn’t like it either.

They all finally did end up at Doc Brenner’s trailer. Sam parked his quad and followed them all inside. Turning back, he could see that the ambulance had gone, but the two police cars remained. They would likely be around asking questions later. He was pretty sure they knew where Doc lived, but he didn’t feel the need to bring them in just yet.

Doc coughed as he went to the bar and poured a drink. “Can I get anyone else something? No? Very well. Please, please. Sit down. I feel we need to discuss a few things.”

Sam couldn’t contain himself. “Yeah, like how do you plan to get the officer and Myra back?”

“Myra?”

“We found the front end of her car at the drive to the park. How do you plan to get her and the officer back here?”

“I’m afraid that’s difficult to answer.”

“Difficult? Come on, you’re the one with the time machine. You seem pretty calm with people’s lives in danger.”

Doc nodded. “I’m sure it may appear that way, but it’s because I know there is nothing we can do tonight. You see, it takes a lot of power to start the machine up and once it’s down, it needs a long time to cool before I fire it up again. If I were to start it up again right now, it’s possible we could blow a circuit and we’d lose them forever.”

“It’s possible? Why don’t we try? If something happens, you can fix it.”

“Ah, but there’s the crux of the problem. My son is the only one who could fix it if something were to happen. I’m afraid we’ll have to wait until it’s cooled down.”

“And how long is that?”

“Six, maybe seven hours.”

“Hours!”

Girlfriend, who’d sat next to Doc, said, “There’s nothing we can do? Is there something we should do to get ready or anything we should prepare?”

“Are you saying you’re willing to go there and save your friend?”

Sam interrupted. “Myra isn’t a friend, but she’s a person in danger because of you. She didn’t ask for this and neither did that officer. I suggest you think about that.”

“But if you’re willing to go, you could then look for my son. I could keep the gate open long enough for you to get there and…”

“Doc, I’m not going looking for your son. I’m not even saying that I want to go. What I’m saying is there are two people you put at risk and we need to get in there and save them. Your son put himself at risk and by your own admission he put his life at risk. As far as I’m concerned, enough people have paid for this. Once we save Myra and the officer, I’m going to see to it that your machine is destroyed. I don’t care if I have to blow it up myself.”

Doc Brenner’s jaw dropped. “It’s my life’s work. How could you speak so lightly of it?”

“I’m not speaking lightly! Listen to what I’m saying here, Doc. You’re putting people’s lives at risk. You can’t do that.”

“Sam,” Girlfriend said. “This is his son. Doc Brenner is sorry. Why don’t you see that? I’m sure that it won’t be that difficult as long as we’re there.”

“No. Why is this so difficult for everyone? If he hadn’t done all this without anyone knowing, maybe I’d understand, but people have died because of him. It’s got to stop somewhere. I say it stops here.”

Girlfriend snapped. “You’re so unreasonable.”

“Am I? Am I really? Lin, what do you think? How do you feel knowing that the man has put your life at risk, and how many times, who knows?”

“Seventy-eight times over the past four months that I know if.”

“What?” Sam asked. Her number was so specific.

“That’s what the logs on my computers show. The ones in my basement, but I assume that Doc knows all about those.”

“Indeed,” Doc acknowledged.

Lin looked at Tiger Lily, then at Sam. She sounded nervous as she spoke. “Tiger Lily came here to help me figure out what’s been happening. I noticed multiple power drops and didn’t know what was going on. On my video logs, I saw that the woods had changed and started looking deeper. The past couple of days we saw someone accessing the system. Tonight, Doc Brenner pretty much sent up a flare saying ‘Here I am’, and here we are. We wanted to know what was going on, too.”

Sam had to mull that over for a minute. “So, he’s been hacking your computer? What for?”

“That’s what I was about to ask him, but you’re not giving anyone else much of a chance to talk.”

Sam looked at them each, one by one. It became painfully obvious that he was monopolizing the conversation, but also he was the only one who felt so strongly against helping Doc Brenner. He could just leave, but that wouldn’t solve anything. He’d had his say, he’d just have to wait to see what the others were going to say.

Lin’s cold stare finally softened and moved back to Doc. “What were you doing on my server?”

“Oh, that’s quite simple. I needed the power boost for the satellite signal. I assure you I didn’t access any of your files and removed all trace of my being there.”

“That much we did know,” Tiger Lily said, her arms crossed over her chest in stern disapproval. Sam was happy to see at least one other person on his side.

“I assure you that nothing I did was with malicious intent. I only needed to see if I could gain access to my son’s tracker.”

Sam stood back up. “Tracker?”

“Oh, yes. I wouldn’t dream of letting him go without it. Too dangerous. It also keeps track of all his vital statistics. From the satellite feed I was able to determine that he’s still alive, but he’s on the move. I’m not sure why or what he’s doing, but he’s healthy, he’s just moving farther and father away from the camp. That causes me great concern because he left me no note as to where he was going or when he’d be back.”

Girlfriend leaned forward. “How does this machine of yours work? You keep talking as though it’s a time travel device, but you’re also talking as though the time is moving the same for you and your son. I don’t understand how that would work.”

“Well, once we had figured out what was happening, it was then that we tried toying with the settings, you know, to visit other time periods and see what might be going on there. We didn’t have much success with that. It took many trials and failures before we figured out that time travel is tied directly with the position of the Earth.”

“Huh?” Sam said.

“You see, the Earth is in constant movement. Just because it’s going around the sun in what appears to be a stable rotation, it’s never in the same place twice. There’s rotation to consider and precession and the elliptical orbit, the position of the moon, the gravitational pull of the other planets. It’s all terribly complex to calculate, but if we wanted to go back a day, that’d be impossible. The Earth wouldn’t be in the same location and you’d end up miles up in the sky or even in space or, Heaven forbid, in the middle of the planet. We tried going back exactly one year, but even a year causes enough of a shift that we had trouble.”

“So how is it that you have this one connection?” Lin asked.

“Well, I guess it’s just a miracle. That’s the only way I can explain it. The position of the Earth at the time we go back is synchronized as it is in the present day. The Earth there doesn’t wobble as much as it does today so we’re constantly performing corrections to the calculations, but it’s not nearly as difficult as finding a new time period that we can visit.”

“Wait a minute,” Sam said. “Are you telling me that the only reason your son, Clive, can stay in the past is because that’s the only time you can travel to safely?”

“Exactly.”

“And you’re smart enough to figure out how to get there, but not somewhere else?”

“Yes.”

“And you’re asking us to trust you with send us back to save your son?”

“I can see your concern, but Clive and I do have a proven track record with going there and back.”

“Until now.”

“No, I can still get us there. I just can’t find my son. I know his whereabouts, but I don’t know why he’s going away. That’s why I need help and thought now was the right time to ask.”

“So why did you pretend like you didn’t know anything when I asked you yesterday?” Sam could feel his anger rising again.

“Please, I was taken by surprise and didn’t know what to say.” Doc Brenner took a sip of his drink. “I assure you that I never mislead you. I guess that’s what led me to bring you all together. Now that everything is out in the open, I hope you’ll consider helping me and in turn helping your friends.”

“Let’s start with helping our friends first. After that, we’ll give consideration to helping you find your son.” Sam had no intention of going to look for Doc’s son. None at all.

“That’s fair enough. I accept your terms.”

Sam had an aching suspicion that he shouldn’t trust Doc Brenner. Something about the way he accepted too easily. Perhaps the old man was just eager for help, or perhaps he had something else in mind. No matter what, Sam would keep on eye on Doc. Two, when he could spare them.

Paradise Palms: A Murder Mystery in a Time-Traveling Trailer Park. Kindle|CreateSpace

Girlfriend

Girlfriend wanted to scream, but the shock of the situation constricted her throat. It was all she could do just to breathe. Sam seemed to be the only person not surprised by what had happened. The speed with which he applied the tourniquet to the detective’s arm was nothing short of amazing. The bleeding stopped almost instantly. Until he started barking orders, no one had moved.

Where had the officer gone? Girlfriend wondered. He had just disappeared into nothingness. Into that strange jungle Sam had tried to describe to her, but nothing he’d said could prepare her for the reality of it. What would happen to that man?

“Girlfriend! Drive back to the house. Now! I don’t want you here.”

She heard his words and knew what he meant, but she couldn’t react. She could only move her head in Sam’s direction and look at him. He shouted again.

“No.” Girlfriend shook her head. With what she’d just seen, she wasn’t about to leave him there alone. She couldn’t do that. How could she go and leave Sam here with all this chaos? She needed to see him and know he was alright. Hadn’t she explained that to him already?

“Girlfriend, go. I’m not asking you, I’m telling you. I don’t know what else is going to happen here and the last thing I want is something to happen to you. Now get back to the…”

“I’m here because I want to be. Not because you ordered me to be here. If there’s something I can do, tell me.”

She leveled her stare at Sam and didn’t move. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, then leaned in and kissed her.

“Then I need you to make sure Detective Schneider is fine until the ambulance gets here. See if you can find something to cover up the end of his arm. I’m going to see if I can find out what happened and if everyone else is alright.”

Girlfriend nodded. She fetched the small first aid kit from the back of the quad and hurried to Detective Schneider’s side. He’d stopped screaming, but still gripped his arm and moaned in pain.

“Detective, I’m here to help you. I need to look at your arm to see if there’s anything I can do.”

He didn’t reply. His skin felt clammy. He was going into shock and she needed to do something. Cover him. That’s what she needed to do.

“Officer!” She yelled to the one officer who still hadn’t moved. He looked at her. “I need a blanket. Quickly. He’s going into shock. I need to get him covered.” The officer nodded. “And find out how long it’s going to take that ambulance to get here. He needs to get to a hospital fast before he loses any more of his arm.”

The officer ran off and Girlfriend focused her attention to the end of Andrew’s arm. The cut was so perfectly clean as if a massive blade had severed is cleanly. The bone and muscle, though still leaking a slight amount, appeared otherwise undamaged.

Girlfriend opened the first-aid kit and got out the gauze and a large patch. The patch barely covered the tip of Andrew’s arm and, based on his lack of response, he’d gone into shock. She wrapped the gauze and tried to get his attention.

“Detective! Detective, talk to me. Do you know where you are? Can you tell me your name?”

He stared up into the sky. She held the bandage with one hand and shook his shoulder. He blinked his glassy eyes, but made no other response.

“Here’s the blanket,” The officer said, holding out the blanket for her to take.

“Well cover him! I’m a little busy with his arm. Cover him as much as you can.”

Girlfriend used the entire roll of gauze and a good amount of tape before she considered the job finished.

Sam stood with the other two officers, keeping them back, away from the line in the dirt where the fourth officer had disappeared. Sam appeared to be the only sane person. That was, until Doc Brenner showed up.

Doc had on a brown suit and a rounded hat. He walked purposefully with a cane in one hand and a smug smile on his face. He looked calm and relaxed as he approached Sam.

“Keep on eye on him,” Girlfriend told the officer, pointed to the detective.

She got up and walked over to Sam, who still hadn’t noticed Doc. When Sam did see him, he lunged at him.

“What the hell have you done?” Sam screamed, grabbing Doc’s lapels. “Do you know what you’ve done?”

Doc Brenner’s hat fell off as Sam shook him violently. Girlfriend placed herself between the two of them. Doc had lost his calm demeanor and looked fearful.

“Let him go! Let go of him, Sam. We’ll never get anything out of him if you keep this up.”

“I should just tear his head off now,” Sam growled, but thankfully he released Doc Brenner.

“I say, what’s the meaning of that reception? I thought you’d be happy to know your hunch about me was correct.”

“I’d be happy if I didn’t know that you killed at least two people and maimed another.” Sam pointed at Detective Schneider ‘s still body on the ground.

Doc Brenner winced looking at the bandaged arm. “Oh dear. What happened?”

“What happened? What happened? Something you did caused a person to fall into that jungle and then the jungle disappeared.”

“Heavens no!” Doc dropped his cane and ran a hand over his face. “This is dreadful. I was fully prepared to turn myself over to your judgment. I only wanted to get your attention before I did.”

“Doc, I think you’ve got some explaining to do. You’d better start talking and fast, before I decide to tear you in half, and it won’t be as neat as it was with Casper.”

“I’m dreadfully sorry for your friend, Sam. I truly am. I had no desire to mislead you earlier and I’m sorry about that as well. I’m afraid I can’t talk here. Not now. I’m losing sensation in my legs and I must sit down.”

Girlfriend took Doc Brenner’s arm. “I’ll help you over to the quad. You can sit there and tell us what’s going on.”

As she helped him over to the quad, Lin and Tiger Lily arrived. “Alright, Doc,” Lin said angrily. “You’ve got some explaining to do.”

“Get in line,” said Sam. “We just lost an officer and the detective here lost an arm.

Lin shrieked at the sight of Detective Schneider’s missing appendage. Tiger Lily only turned her nose in disgust. Girlfriend helped Doc sit on the quad. He took several deep breaths.

“This is all wrong. Nothing like this was supposed to happen.”

Sam reached for Doc’s lapel again, but Girlfriend held him off. “Why don’t you start with what is happening, and you’d better talk fast.”

“Nothing like this was supposed to happen. I assure you that I never intended anyone any harm.”

“What did you intend?” Sam asked. He seemed to have calmed down slightly.

“I was looking for my son.”

That earned a collective gasp from all in the area.

Doc continued after wiping a tear from his eye. “You see, all this started many years ago. My son, a brilliant young man in his own right, helped me to build a transportation device. The only trouble was that we could never figure out where things went.”

Girlfriend didn’t want to hear what Doc was saying and had to sit down herself. The rest all followed suit and sat on the ground. She was only certain that if Doc Brenner was indeed responsible for what was happening, they were all safe for the time being.

Sam shook his head and said, “Don’t tell me you transported your son.”

“Oh heavens no! I would never do such a thing. He was most adamant about not sending me either, even though we were able to recover items we sent in one direction. The items were supposed to teleport across the room. No further.

“We ran into complications, I guess that’s the best way to describe it. Items would come back with debris and dirt. We decided to expand the field of teleportation. We even tried sending small animals to see what happened. Some of them came back dead. We found that with only a slight increase in energy, we could not only transport matter in one direction, but we could bring something back. It was then we started to notice that we were sending metal and animals and getting dirt and vegetation.

“I don’t know how long we worked on the teleporting, but we had to expand the field to the point we could actually send an area the size of a room. That was when we decided to set a timer and send ourselves. We transported ourselves to finally see where the items we transported were going. As you may have already guessed, they were going back in time. Our transporter device was not a teleporter, it was a time machine. We found ourselves in a primeval jungle of pre-history. We went many times, taking pictures, video, documenting and journaling what we found there. Being scientists, it was only a matter of time that we decided to set up a base of operations there, but we couldn’t do that within a small area in Minneapolis. That’s when I got the double wide here at Paradise Palms.

“From there we brought in a lot of material needed to build our base of operations. It wasn’t difficult. Juilo Sanchez keeps such irregular hours, that he would arrive late at night and no one ever suspected anything. They were already used to his coming and going late at night. I paid him well to keep quiet about the shipments he brought in for me.”

“Hold on a second,” Sam said. “Are you telling me that you and your son built a base?”

“Of sorts. My son is very crafty. The base is composed of modular buildings and a small radio station. We even managed to get a rocket strong enough to launch a satellite. I’ve got some incredible images from orbit. No one has even seen prehistoric Earth before, but I’ve got pictures that show the continents just prior to the full break up.” Doc looked excited as he spoke.

“This is where my tale falls apart, I’m sad to say. My son, Clive Brenner, decided that one of us needed to stay at the base and do as much research as he could. He, being the younger and stronger, thought it should be him. He’d be able to fend off any danger, and react faster in a dangerous situation. I didn’t like it, but I had to agree. Everything went fine until two or three months ago. We had exchanged information regularly through the teleporter and I had sent him all the food and equipment he could need. I had even enlarged the area of the teleporter to encompass the entire trailer park so I could send him anything he could need. We had set up mock-ups for the power lines and telephone lines and such as well as a generator to keep power up inside the park during the transfers. The area just east of my trailer is where we would do the transfers.

“Clive didn’t show up the last time I tried to do a transfer to him. I didn’t think much of it at first. I had gone two or three days without hearing from him as he went off on some expedition of his, and then he’d return and we’d start exchanging information. This time I haven’t heard from him at all. No messages, no transfers of information, nothing. I have gone to the base and looked, but I have not seen him there. I dare not go outside the base area for I’m far too old to go traipsing in the jungle unassisted.”

Doc Brenner took a moment to stifle a cry before he continued. “Never in all my years did I think my research would put anyone in danger. Sam, I’m truly sorry for Casper’s death. I’m also very sorry for what happened to the missing officer and this detective. I still must ask, even though I’m sure you’ll all say no, but Sam, can you help me find my son?”

Girlfriend, mesmerized by Doc’s story, looked at Sam. He sat with his head in his hands. She could tell the struggle was tearing him apart. She was sure that given the chance, he would hurt Doc Brenner, but on the other hand, Sam had always been one to give a helping hand when asked. Sam didn’t know Doc that well, but when it came to the trailer park and its residents, he was always there to help.

Slowly, Sam raised his head. He spoke without emotion. “I should let you suffer as you’ve made others suffer. In fact, I think I will. You want to find your son? Do it yourself.”

Sam stood and started to walk away. He stopped when he heard the sirens of the ambulance. One officer who had been waiting near the Sandy Bar ran to join them.

“There’s something on the road! It looks like the front end of a car or something.”

Sam’s head snapped in the direction of the road, then back at Doc Brenner. “You’d better hope someone else hasn’t suffered by your hand.”

Paradise Palms: A Murder Mystery in a Time-Traveling Trailer Park. Kindle|CreateSpace

Myra

Myra sat bolt upright. She put her hand on her chest. What had happened? The clock read only one-thirty, but she felt like she needed to be there, at the park, and now. She rushed to get dressed and grab her camera and iphone. She didn’t know what time everyone else would get to the Paradise Palms and didn’t want to miss anything. Even if it was just anticipation and waiting, she wanted to be there for every bit of it. Surely they all would be there already.

She put on her jacket, put everything in the pockets, and left her room. She took only a moment to rub the crud from her eyes and curse herself for sleeping so late. She hadn’t intended to sleep so long. She rushed down the stairs of the hotel and outside to her car. It took her three times to stop her hands from shaking and open the car door. She sat down and put her seat belt on and backed the car out of the parking spot.

It took too long on the dark road. She had to drive slowly. She hated it. She ground her teeth and sat all the way forward on the seat to make sure she didn’t miss anything. There was no snow or ice on the road, but that didn’t make any difference. Somehow night driving had never been the same for her. She wanted to drive faster. The anticipation was killing her. She’d given her number to the detective, but she’d failed to get his. She could have called and found out what was going on right now.

The Paradise Palms was only a short distance ahead. She could see the light from the sign. Pressing on the accelerator, she sped to it. She would slow down right before the turn. She lifted her foot to step on the brake and as she did, the world shifted before her eyes. The hood of her Celica was severed and the car nearly stopped dead. It skidded slowly forward and down the gravel drive of the trailer park.

The air bag hadn’t deployed as the front of the car had completely disappeared. Myra looked bleary-eyed out the windshield. Something about the park didn’t look right. The buildings were all different. She could see a radio tower in the middle of where the park should have been as well as three small buildings, one that looked like a house. What had happened here?

Before Myra could gather her wits, the woods shifted, replaced by jungle. Myra felt her heart nearly stop. She rolled down the window of her car and looked outside. The bright stars, the massive moon, the chatter of insects, it all overtook her. Then she realized what must’ve happened. She wasn’t in the Paradise Palms. She wasn’t even in Minnesota anymore. It may be Minnesota, but a land that had been forgotten for sixty or seventy million years.

She heard a man scream in the distance and a gunshot.

Gunshot? Myra got out of her car and rushed to the sound, then realized what she was doing. No. She had to stay with the car.

Again the man screamed, but this time it was cut short. It was then that Myra began to panic.

Paradise Palms: A Murder Mystery in a Time-Traveling Trailer Park. Kindle|CreateSpace

Lin

Lin moaned softly as the gentle hand rubbed her neck with purposeful intent. Lips brushed against her ear and she rolled over to try to see who could be there, but the person stayed behind her, hidden from view. An arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her close. The heat from the other person’s body felt good against her exposed skin and gooseflesh covered her body from the excitement. Again the lips touched her ear and a tongue ran from behind her ear and down her neck. Again Lin moaned.

“Lin! Lin, wake up.”

Lin sat up. Her own hand was in her shirt as she lay upon the bed. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment. She quickly pulled her hand out and pulled her knees to her chest.

“I’m sorry to wake you from your dream. It sounded like a good one. But we’ve got activity.”

Lin was breathing heavy. She fought to catch her breath. Tiger Lily had seen her. That didn’t matter right now. What did matter was something was happening.

“What time is it?”

“It’s only two, but something is happening. I’ve got a signal that’s burning like a torch in the night. This guy isn’t even making the slightest attempt to hide that he’s coming in. Something is up.”

Lin took a seat next to Tiger Lily. Tiger Lily put her hand on Lin’s leg and kissed her on the forehead. “I’m sorry you had to wake up.”

“This is more important.”

“I know, but you know what I mean. I didn’t want you to wake up like this.”

Lin rubbed the sleep from her eyes and then put an arm around Tiger Lily and rested her head on her shoulder. “Show me what’s going on.”

Sure enough there was a signal coming in on a main line with no attempt to hide the IP address or any incoming data. Almost as if the person wanted to be found.

“This is different. It’s almost like a direct attack by some amateur. I don’t get it. Why did this person spend so long sneaking in and then practically yell ‘here I am’?”

“Maybe he does want to be found. Bring up the cameras on this screen.” Lin pointed to the second monitor.

Tiger Lily brought up the sectional display of the cameras. Every thing in the park looked normal. Normal except for Sam and Girlfriend driving through the park.

“What are they doing?” Lin asked.

“I don’t know, I wasn’t watching them. I’ve almost got the trace back on this signal, you keep on eye on them.”

Sam and Girlfriend sped through the park and went into the woods behind the Sandy Bar, out of sight.

“Well, they’re in the woods where Casper was found. Any luck on the signal?”

“You know what? It’s transferring a file to this computer. He’s hacked all the way in. I’m going to block it.”

“No!” Lin didn’t know why, but something of this didn’t scream of an attack. If anything, it was a plea for help. She looked back at the cameras “I don’t know. Something isn’t right.”

“I know that much. What do you think is happening?”

The woods shifted. “There!” Lin pointed. “It all changed. See that?”

“Yes.” Tiger Lily sounded amazed.

It didn’t last more than two minutes and then everything changed back.

“It was different. Do we still have that signal? Can we trace it?”

“The signal is still there. The file is also done downloading. Should we open it?”

“Where did the signal originate?”

“It’s coming from…”

“Don’t tell me. From Doc Brenner’s place?”

Lin pointed to the monitor. Doc Brenner, dressed in a suit and tie and a bowler on his head, stood on the steps to his trailer. He looked right at Lin’s trailer and waved as if he knew the camera was pointed at him.

Paradise Palms: A Murder Mystery in a Time-Traveling Trailer Park. Kindle|CreateSpace

Sam

Sam wrestled the massive snake out of some Conan movie, its head so large it couldn’t get back to him as he stabbed a long dagger into it again and again. It did, however, rise up and smash him into the rocky ceiling. He lost his grip on the monster and fell to the ground where a giant iguana tried to swallow him up, but he managed to roll out of the way and throw his dagger into its eye. He ran for a small hole and dove through, but as he entered the hole, spikes came up out of the walls and stuck into his body.

Sam sat up and wanted to puke. Pain pierced his ribcage and breathing was difficult. He got up and stumbled into the bathroom.

“Sam?”

“I’m fine.”

He wasn’t fine. His head throbbed and his body ached like never before. He tried to throw up, but only sour bile came up. It was dark outside, so he must not have had anything to eat since that morning.

“Sam, are you sure you’re fine?” Girlfriend asked from the doorway of the bathroom.

“Yeah. I’m good.”

“Then tell me what you were thinking first of all by accusing Doc Brenner of being some mad scientist and then drinking. I’ve never seen you drink before, and I’m glad now that I haven’t. Have you lost your mind?”

Had he? No. He was certain that it was Doc Brenner. It had to be. The man was too secretive. Girlfriend had said something about it possibly being Lin, but Sam had been in her house. She was just a girl who didn’t harbor any secrets. He knew that.

“No, I haven’t lost my mind. What time is it?”

Girlfriend looked back into the bedroom while Sam rinsed his mouth out. He got his toothbrush out and started putting toothpaste on it.

“It’s almost two.”

Sam dropped the toothbrush. “What? Why didn’t you wake me up? We’ve got to get out there.”

“I thought that detective was going to wake you up.”

“That’s not the point. I want to get out there long before this happens. I don’t know if it’s going to happen at the same time each night. We can’t miss this happening. This will tell us for sure if what I’m thinking really happened. Dammit.”

Sam squirmed his way past Girlfriend, kissing her as he did. He dressed as quickly as he could. He wanted to ask how he’d gotten back to the trailer and undressed, but that wasn’t as important as getting his clothes back on and getting out there to the area where Casper had disappeared. As Sam laced up his boots, he noticed that Girlfriend was already dressed.

“Did you sleep like that?”

“Well, you get ready faster than I do.”

“No! I told you you’re not coming with me.”

“Sam, you’re not going to stop me. I’m going to be there. You already told me I could and you’re going to give me a gun.”

He didn’t have time to argue about this again. He pulled his laces taut and tied them. Putting a hand on Girlfriend’s shoulder and spinning her toward the door, Sam marched her outside and to the shed. Blue jumped up and gave a bark when the came outside.

“Stay!” Sam ordered and closed Blue in the patio. She barked her disapproval at being left behind. Sam didn’t want anything to happen to Girlfriend or Blue. At least Blue he could lock up and she couldn’t get herself out. Girlfriend would only follow if he left her behind and he’d rather have her in front of him instead of sneaking around where he couldn’t keep an eye on her.

He went into the shed and pulled out his mag-lights, flares, and loaded his guns into the trailer. Hopefully Detective Schneider wasn’t there yet. Sam wanted to be the one to stake out the spot they would watch from.

He motored around the park, quicker than before as Girlfriend sat behind him and he didn’t have to worry about her and Myra jostling around in the trailer. When he approached the office, he saw two police cruisers and the detective’s car. The trunks were open, so they had to still be unloading gear. Sam drove straight into the woods, turning on the headlight, and went to where the floodlights had been set up in the woods. He didn’t want the lights on. Not until they needed them.

“Turn those off,” Sam yelled as he hit the brakes. He killed the engine and hopped off the quad, trying not to kick Girlfriend as he did.

Detective Schneider held up his hands to stop Sam. “Hold on a minute. What’s the trouble here?”

“We’re trying to be covert here. You’ve got cruisers in front of the Sandy Bar, you’ve got lights on in the woods. Didn’t you listen to a thing I said earlier?”

“Sam, I heard you. This is a police operation. I want you involved as much as possible.”

“Hey!” Sam yelled at one officer standing on the line in the dirt. “Stay away from that line.” He looked back at Detective Schneider, furious. “You really don’t get it, do you?”

The whole world shifted. The woods changed into a jungle and the sounds erupted into a cacophony of insects. Sam heard Girlfriend gasp and the officer that had been so close to the line lost his balance and fell backwards down a short drop-off. Sam and Andy rushed to the edge.

“What do we do?” the detective asked.

“Find something to pull him up. This happened last night and only for a couple minutes. We don’t have much time. I don’t know what’ll happen if we don’t get him back up here and now.”

“Does anyone have a rope or anything?” Detective Andy asked. “Anything?”

The other officers just stood, dumbfounded by the shift. The heavy air made it difficult to breathe. One of the officers passed out. Detective Schneider Schneider inched close to the edge. Sam tried to stop him. Everything happened so fast. They had ruined everything. This wasn’t how it was supposed to happen, and it was far too early for it to happen.

“Get back up here. Hurry.” Detective Schneider held his hand out to help the officer up. Sam grabbed Andrew to pull him back.

“Don’t!”

But it was too late. The world shifted back. Andrew screamed as his arm disappeared just below the elbow. Blood sprayed out the end of the severed limb. Sam ripped off his shirt. He had to push Andy down onto the ground to get him to stop squirming. He wrapped the end of his shirt around the severed limb and tied it tight. He picked up a branch and inserted it into the knot and twisted. Andrew screamed with each twist, but didn’t fight Sam as he tightened the tourniquet. He dipped his thumb in the blood and wrote “2:30” on the detective’s head.

Sam yelled at the dumbfounded officers. “Get to your car and call an ambulance! Go!”

One found his senses and turned and ran back to his car.

“You’re going to be alright. Just hang tight.”

Sam looked back at the woods. He wondered what would happen to the officer that had fallen. Would they ever see him again? Could they? Sam felt sick again. He could hear Girlfriend sobbing behind him. It had happened earlier this time and for a far shorter time. The culprit wasn’t following the normal pattern. Why didn’t Girlfriend wake him up? He should have been out here long before this. They would just have to try again tomorrow he guessed. Unless…

Paradise Palms: A Murder Mystery in a Time-Traveling Trailer Park. Kindle|CreateSpace

Myra

A shower. That’s all Myra could think about. She’d been in the woods hiking before, but never had she been bogged down in mud. She hated tracking mud into Girlfriend’s trailer as they carried Sam back to the bedroom. She was glad, however, for all the years she’d spent hauling heavy fossils and plaster casts from shelf to shelf. Sam was a big fellow, but she was able to carry his weight without much difficulty. Girlfriend, on the other hand, was having a difficult time just holding up Sam’s feet. She was in great shape and could run incredibly fast, but she did lack strength.

They dumped Sam onto the bed and Girlfriend started to undress him. Myra excused herself to the kitchen. She busied herself with looking over the two maps. She and Girlfriend had traced similar lines around the park and indeed on both maps, after some careful tracing of the lines, Myra was certain that the Doc Brenner trailer was indeed in the center of the circles. Myra got out her camera and took a picture of each map. She’d be able to do better plotting of the circle in Photoshop rather than guesswork with drawing. It’d be even better if she could find an actual photo of the area, but that wasn’t going to happen. She’d just have to make do.

She plotted out the position of the hadrosaur they’d found. She wanted to make sure that she didn’t lose track of it. She desperately wanted to go back and look at it. It pained her to be away from the body when there was so much she could learn even with a couple hours. She only lacked the proper tools. She hadn’t brought her case with her, but that didn’t have anything that could move or turn over the massive body. She’d need helicopter support for that.

Myra pulled out her cell phone. She was in a good coverage area. She thought about calling Randy, but that could wait. She’d e-mail him the photos and wait for his response. Surely he’d understand her need to stay there and look for more specimens.

“Can I get you anything?” Girlfriend asked.

Myra nearly leapt out of her skin. “Oh, no. I’m good. I think I need to go back to my hotel room.”

Girlfriend looked worn out, almost as if she hadn’t slept all night. It was possible, that with everything going on, she hadn’t. Myra had really enjoyed Girlfriend’s company and would like to stay and talk with her longer. She was so friendly and very accommodating, but with Sam asleep in the other room, she felt as if she were intruding.

Girlfriend nodded and held her arms out to hug Myra. Myra stood and hugged her.

“Thank you,” Girlfriend said.

Myra pulled back, but still held Girlfriend’s arms. “Do you have my cell phone number? I’ll be back tonight, but in case you think of anything else you might need for tonight, when we’re sitting out in the woods waiting for whatever it is we’ll be waiting for…”

“That’s very sweet of you. No, thank you. I’ll be fine. I think I need to join Sam in a nap. We didn’t have a good night last night.”

“I understand. I’ll just let myself out.”

Girlfriend nodded and returned to the bedroom. Myra passed the dog curled up on the patio floor as she left. Apparently she’d had a bad night too. Just with what she’d seen and heard, it was difficult to imagine that more people didn’t have a hard night.

Outside she looked back through the park toward Doc Brenner’s trailer. She wondered if Sam could be right. Girlfriend had expressed misgivings to his concept that Doc could have anything to do with what was happening, as the man never left his trailer and she always washed his clothes which were always pajamas. She felt sad for the man to have someone like Sam come in and start accusing him of such an atrocity.

Myra’s face went slack when she saw one of the two girls they’d talked to on top of her trailer. She had something in her hand, Myra had thought she noticed a camera of some kind, and she was pointing it toward the end of the trailer park; toward the double wide trailer at the end of the park. What was she doing that for? The girl had said she suspected Doc of something, but hadn’t elaborated. Myra wanted to go talk to her, but she didn’t want to disturb her.

She found her thoughts slipping from curiosity to jealousy. The girl was young and beautiful, but she didn’t need to be running around in a pair of tiny short shorts to flaunt her legs like that. Of course, if Myra had a body like hers, instead of a running back, she’d probably show it off as well. She couldn’t fault her for that.

Myra made her way back across the park to the Sandy Bar and her car. Detective Schneider had left. She’d have to get a hold of him later. It was only 1:00 o’clock when she pulled out of the trailer park. She plugged in her iPhone and listened to her notes on the way back to the hotel in town, but stopped them only part-way through.

She opened her cell phone and called Detective Schneider. She wanted to get back into the morgue and take some pictures of her own of the troodon head and maybe do further investigation into it. She was at home with a fossil, but this had flesh and skin and eyes. She could advance her knowledge of dinosaurs beyond the theoretical and base it on fact.

He didn’t answer. She contemplated calling Randy, but dropped the phone into the seat. She’d send him a copy of her notes and pictures. That’d be enough.

Back at the hotel, she logged into her computer and dialed into the museum network. It took forever for the slow connection to transfer the pictures, so she decided not to send the audio file. Even though it was only a few megs of MP3 file, she didn’t want to wait for an hour while it transferred. Instead she started the audio file over while she stripped and took a quick shower. It took forever to get the mud off her boots, but as she washed the mud off, she saw something out of place. Little bugs. Bugs that didn’t belong in the woods of Minnesota. In fact, the little bugs didn’t belong in any woods of the world that she knew about.

Myra slammed the drain closed on the bathtub. She couldn’t lose them. She rushed naked into the room and grabbed her case and pulled out sample jars. With her tweezers, she collected each bug and placed it into its own separate container. Myra smiled. Now she had something to take back. She couldn’t haul a dinosaur back in her car, but these little guys she sure could.

The phone in the room rang. Myra rushed to answer.

“Myra!” It was Randy. “Are you serious? Is this what I think it is?”

“Yes. It’s a fully-grown hadrosaur.”

“And why aren’t you there protecting it?”

“From what?”

Randy sounded agitated. “What if someone else gets there first? We can’t lose this. This could really bring in a lot of money to the museum. Don’t you understand?”

“It’s in a place where unless you’re looking for it, you’ll miss it. It’s a very difficult area to get to.”

“I don’t care where it is. You need to get to it and stay there.”

“Sam will keep an eye on it.”

“Who?”

“Sam, he’s the one who’s helping me at the trailer park.”

“You mean some yokel is helping you? He could be on the phone right now selling the story to the Weekly World News. Oh shit, Myra. We can’t let this one go. You need to also make sure that cop doesn’t get rid of the head.”

“I’ve already…”

“Why are you still talking to me? Myra, get out there and secure these.”

“How do you expect me to move a five-ton body? I mean, be realistic.”

“No, Myra. You be realistic. We’ve lost several supporters this year. We need those to help bring funding back into the museum. I don’t care if you need to take your suitcase and camp out on top of that thing. You don’t let anyone else near it. Do I make myself clear?”

Myra took a deep breath. At least he was understanding as to why she needed to stay up in the woods and she would, after all, be in the woods that night. “I’ll be with it all night long.”

“Great. I’m going to try and figure out how to get someone up there with a truck or something.”

“A truck can’t get to where this is. You’ll need to get a helicopter.”

“Damn! Okay. That’ll take a little longer. I’ll call your cell…”

It was Myra’s turn to interrupt. “My cell doesn’t work that deep in the woods, but I’ll make sure no one else gets to it.”

“Don’t let any of those trailer park yahoos tell anyone else about this. We can’t afford for this to get out. This is a once in a lifetime shot, Myra. Once in a lifetime! Once in ten lifetimes.”

She knew that, but she didn’t like him calling Girlfriend a yahoo. He didn’t know her. He didn’t know any of them.

“I’ve got to go. I’ve got something else to attend to before I get back out there.”

Myra hung up the phone and looked at the small, wiggling specimen in the jar. She wasn’t sure what it was, possibly an ancient mayfly relative, but she had it and she’d keep that her own secret for now.

She pulled the sheets back and lay on the bed naked and enjoyed the hotel’s air conditioner. She didn’t set an alarm. She was only going to nap for a short time. She could eat at that little café when she woke up. Myra fell asleep with the small jar clutched to her chest.

Paradise Palms: A Murder Mystery in a Time-Traveling Trailer Park. Kindle|CreateSpace

Lin

Lin turned up the speakers so L7 would be good and loud. She screamed along with Gas Chamber while Tiger Lily finished the coding of the trap. When the person trying to get into their system connected, the trap would feedback and force a lock. Only a physical disconnection would allow the person to get away from their detection. Once established, they could find out everything they needed to know about their mystery visitor.

Tiger Lily reached up and turned the music down to a conversational tone. “Do you have those other cameras ready?”

“No.” In fact, Lin had almost forgotten about them. They were in the basement still packed in the original packages. She’d ordered them online and hadn’t installed as many as she could since nothing happened and she didn’t think anything interesting ever would. She was thankful she had installed the ones she did.

“Why don’t you go get them? They’re the same as the others, right?”

“One is. The other is a tripod camera and it’s a little different. We may need to install software to run that one, but it’s easy enough to do.”

“Can you get those? I’ll install the software while you set up the cameras. We definitely need one pointed at Doc Brenner’s trailer. We do have a clear shot to that one, right?” Lin nodded. “Great. Set up the other one on the roof and point it toward the Sandy Bar. I know we have one on top of the Sandy Bar, but we need one to see what might be going on out of range of that camera.”

“What about the one on the main office?”

“Can we re-direct that one? I had thought these were stationary?”

“They can be re-pointed. I just had them set up in one direction. I’ve never had a reason to move them.”

“Perfect. It’s closer, so that’ll give us a better view behind the bar. Just set up the tripod camera and we’ll be good, then.” Tiger Lily winked at Lin and wrinkled her nose.

Lin went to the kitchen and opened the door Sam had installed to go down into the basement. Even with the lights on it looked like a dungeon, and the sound of humming servers didn’t make it any more inviting. Every chance she had she avoided going into the basement, which was pretty much all the time. She only went down there to put something into storage or to get something out. It was intended as long-term storage, after all.

She grabbed the broom sitting at the top of the stairs and waved it all along. Just because she couldn’t see the spider webs didn’t mean they weren’t there. She hated bugs.

The small room at the foot of the stairs held her personal storage. She didn’t need much. The last time she’d been in the basement was to put the extra cameras away. The water-tight, clean-room environment for the servers was sealed away in the dark. Only the generator was visible in the light from the storage room. Lin grabbed the tripod camera and hurried back up the stairs.

Tearing open the package to retrieve the installation CD, Lin returned to the bedroom and handed it to Tiger Lily.

“The box says it’s a wireless camera, so we won’t need to run a cable to it. I just need to plug it in,” Lin told Tiger Lily.

“Great. Do you think it’d be better on the roof? I just don’t want someone to walk by and knock it over or pick it up.”

“That’s probably a good idea.” Lin thought. She didn’t have a ladder to get on the roof. She’d always gotten Sam or Casper when she needed anything like that.

“Um, Tiger Lily, could you help me get up on the roof?”

“Sure,” Tiger Lily said as she closed the CD drive. “How do you get up there?”

“I think there’s a set of ladder rungs that go up the back of the trailer, but I’ve never been up them.”

“Oh, okay. Let’s go. I need to stretch my legs a little anyway.”

Lin removed the camera from the box and they headed outside. The sun was high in the sky. It wasn’t even noon yet but Lin already felt tired. They’d had a long day already with the driving and coding. She looked up the road when the sound of a loud motor cycle or something worked its way up the drive. Girlfriend drove Sam’s quad, towing a trailer, and a woman Lin didn’t recognize sitting behind her.

“Who’s that?”

“Oh, that’s Sam’s girlfriend.”

“What’s her name?”

“Her name is Girlfriend Sokolov. She’s really nice.” Lin waved for her to stop. She’d be driving up to Sam’s trailer just up the drive and on the opposite side.

Girlfriend pulled up to a stop in front of Lin and Tiger Lily. “Hi Lin.” She sounded tired. Lin noticed Sam in the trailer.

“What happened?” Lin rushed over to see what had happened to Sam. She didn’t see any blood, but that didn’t mean something bad hadn’t happened.

“Oh, he’s fine. I know why he doesn’t drink now.” Girlfriend laughed a cold laugh. “Funny, I always thought he could handle a drink if he ever took one.”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, he thought that maybe Doc Brenner was responsible for something and went to talk to him. Doc offered him a drink and he drank two really fast. Then he passed out.”

Lin and Tiger Lily exchanged worried glances. “What did he think Doc Brenner was up to?”

Girlfriend shrugged. “It’s kind of hard to explain.”

“Not that hard,” the woman sitting behind Girlfriend said.

Lin asked, “Do I know you?” The woman looked vaguely familiar.

The woman extended a hand. “I’m Myra Tolie. I’m here to try and help any way I can.”

Lin recognized the woman from across the street with the detective. They’d been around with Sam, asking him questions. Was she a cop or a detective too? Lin didn’t want to ask.

Tiger Lily stepped forward. “We’re also thinking Doc Brenner is up to something. That’s why we’re asking what Sam may have thought he was doing.”

“Well, I don’t want to speak for Sam. You know, he’ll be up later, if this is something that can wait.”

“Well, are you sure you can’t tell me what’s going on? There’s been some strange things happening and Sam might be onto something really important.”

Girlfriend looked back at Sam and then at a paper she had in her hand. It had a semi-circle on it and a map of the trailer park. Lin didn’t get a good enough look at it to tell what it really showed. Myra held a map also, only a slightly different map.

“Should I show her the pictures?” Myra asked Girlfriend.

“No!” Girlfriend nearly shrieked as Myra asked her question.

Lin said. “I think we may be able to help each other here.”

Girlfriend eyed Tiger Lily suspiciously. Lin felt the need to explain. “This is my, um, friend, Tiger Lily.”

“I saw the car in front of your trailer. You don’t get too many visitors.”

Lin wondered if Girlfriend’s evasiveness was to protect Sam somehow.

“Does this have anything to do with the strange things that are happening?” Lin asked.

“No!” Girlfriend snapped.

“Yes,” Myra said at the same time.

Lin looked between the two women. It didn’t make any sense. What could they be hiding and just how much did Lin have to say? She didn’t want to tell them everything about what they knew, but at the same time she didn’t want Girlfriend to drive off without telling them something.

“I’m sorry, Lin. I need to get Sam into bed. He’s had a bad day and he thinks he’s going to have a really long night. I’ll have him call you when he wakes up, alright? I’m sure he’ll tell you all about it later.”

Lin looked at Tiger Lily and they nodded to each other. Lin wanted to smile at the unspoken communication the two of them had naturally fallen into, but refrained. “That’s fine.”

Girlfriend kicked the quad into gear and rode back to Sam’s trailer. Lin and Tiger Lily stepped back to the side of the trailer and watched.

“You know, I think we need that other camera and I think I know where we need it pointing,” said Tiger Lily.

“And I need to know when he wakes up too. I’ve got some software that I need to install that’ll set off an alarm if one of the cameras detects movement.”

“Perfect. Let’s get these cameras set up. I don’t care who sees the one pointed at Doc Brenner’s trailer, but let’s try to keep the camera pointed at Sam’s trailer as hidden as possible.”

Lin looked at the rungs leading up the back of the trailer and then at the tripod camera in her hand. She was just glad that Girlfriend or Myra hadn’t asked about them. She’d hate to have to explain to them about the cameras and what they’d seen as well as what they suspected about Doc Brenner. She knew that Girlfriend was Doc’s cleaning lady and didn’t know what her relationship with the man entailed. Perhaps she’d find out later if she actually told Sam to call her.