The woman sputtered in place before throwing up her arms and storming out of the tent.

  Kelly relaxed. "We are going straight to hell for that."

  "Nah." I waved her off. "We're going to hell but for something boring like forging parents' signatures on permission forms."

  "She's never going to believe those Magnolia Girls did it." Inez put her hands on her hips. "Betty, you can't do that again."

  Betty shrugged. "Do what?"

  CHAPTER TEN

  Due to the late hour, the girls filed out of the tent to work on a late lunch/early dinner. I held Betty back.

  "Did you find anything?" I needed to know before I chewed her out. Always best to start friendly before torturing someone to find the truth. It confuses them.

  "No, but I think something's going on with that provost. He was in the 15th Alabama tent, and they were hush shouting at each other."

  "Hush shouting?"

  "It's like what you're doing right now—shouting at me quietly."

  "You didn't hear what they said?"

  "I heard three words." Betty held up three fingers. "Dead, body, and Wrath."

  "They were talking about a dead body?" My ears pricked up.

  She shook her head. "I'm not sure if they said those two words together."

  I thought about this. "And Wrath could mean the word wrath."

  "I'll find out more later," Betty said confidently.

  "How? We have dinner, then the Magnolia Girls coming over, then bed." I remembered what Riley had said. "And you're not going out to gamble tonight either."

  The child frowned. "Riley ratted me out, didn't he?"

  "No gambling," I repeated.

  "Too bad," she sighed. "I won $300. I was going for $500 tonight. So much for the new bugle."

  Normally when presented with this sort of information, I'd ask the girl what her parents would think for a little guilt trip. But not in this case. While they weren't neglectful, they really weren't terribly concerned. I'd only met Betty's mom, Carol Ann, once at a lock-in sleepover. Blonde and perky, the woman was a tad odd in that she believed aliens had kidnapped her and, foregoing the usual anal probing, taught her how to play the bassoon. I had a chance to hear her perform once with the community band, and she wasn't half bad.

  Betty's folks were also a bit gullible. Betty once convinced them when they went out of town that she had permission to stay with me for a few days. She just forgot to mention that I knew nothing of that arrangement.

  She wasn't an only child either. Her older brother, Bart, often house sat for us when Rex and I weren't home. He was good with the animals and could come over at the drop of a hat. A bit more expensive than I'd like, but I believe that was because he was giving Betty kickbacks for referring him.

  The child began to beg. "You have to let me go tonight. I can do this! These dudes are easy!"

  "Do I have to stay up all night and watch you?"

  This was a bluff because I was totally beat from racing around in a corset. For years, I'd quieted those girls down by sitting there among the sleeping bags, staring them down when they tried to get up. I also had to employ this once at camp to keep Betty from raiding the kitchen at night for a party in the cabins. She never got past me. Bluff or not, it was effective.

  "Fine," she said after a moment.

  "Go help with dinner," I said lamely.

  As she went, I wondered if I should set up the aluminum plates inside the tent tonight. It probably wouldn't matter. The kid was too good for that.

  Betty stuck her head inside the tent. "Oh, and watch out for those Magnolia Girls. They're out to get you."

  Great.

  "So I planted our pocket knives under the seats we'll be using in case they attack."

  Instead of responding, I went and confiscated each and every knife. While I was impressed with the girl following the Be Prepared motto, Betty was starting to scare me.

  Soo Jin joined us for dinner, insisting on staying for s'mores later. I had the distinct feeling that this wasn't out of fun but at the direction of the provost so that I wouldn't offend Mary Gold again.

  "What's up with that Mary Gold?" I asked over grilled cheese sandwiches that I was pretty sure didn't exist during this era.

  "I'm not sure," the medical examiner said. "She really doesn't like you. I think it may have to do with the fact that we have two Ladies Aid Societies. She probably thought they'd be the only ones."

  "Seems to me we'd need one on both sides. If we didn't, would they have even helped the Union soldiers?" I wondered aloud.

  "Unlikely," Soo Jin said. "Mary Gold and her girls are Southern sympathizers. They've been doing reenactments for the past two years. A lot of them can trace back an ancestor who fought in the Civil War."

  "Do you know anything about the other Confederates? Like, say, the 15th Alabama?"

  She shrugged. "I can ask Eddie."

  Kelly interjected, "I didn't see him on the battlefield today. And he's not here for dinner. What's up?"

  Soo Jin groaned, "He's been called in. Massive pileup on I-80. Again. They called up every trooper."

  Interstate 80 was the main artery that cut the state in half. As such, it was loaded with traffic all the time. Especially truckers. With all that traffic, accidents were always a thing. Eddie would have his hands full.

  After dinner, we cleaned up and decided to tour the camp as a troop. This would provide me with excellent cover, and hopefully I'd figure out which guys were after Betty. If Kelly saw through this motive, she wasn't saying.

  Soo Jin left us to join Juliette and the provost for some sort of hastily called meeting. If I had to guess, I'd say Juliette was still convinced our troop was to blame for the artillery heist. Oh well. Soo Jin would have our back.

  The girls primped a little before we went, with the Kaitlyns using curling irons they'd stashed in the campfire. Getting ready was so much work. How…or why did women do that? Give me shorts and a T-shirt every day.

  Kelly came over and adjusted my wig. "You have to be more careful with your clothes. They're on loan."

  "What? Did I hang something up incorrectly?"

  "Just try to be more responsible," she said as she straightened her dress. "What would Alister think?"

  I pointed at her. "There it is again! You have a crush on Stumpy!"

  Kelly shook her head. "Your imagination is way too overactive. I shouldn't have to remind you that I'm happily married. And besides, I'm sure he'd prefer Alister over that unfortunate nickname."

  I started to protest but decided there was no point to it. Kelly just had a little infatuation. She and Robert were solid. I wasn't worried. But I wasn't going to pass up an opportunity to tease her either.

  We started with the drilling field, where two soldiers, one from each unit, were explaining their uniforms to an eager group of tourists. It was only the first day of the event, and I was starting to get a little tired of the Civil War. At least the tourists made it a bit more entertaining.

  "It's Janie Peckinpah!" The obese tourist from this morning pointed at me, and the crowd shifted.

  I stood corrected.

  "What?" Kelly asked.

  "Come and tell everyone your story with that handsome, rich officer!"

  Everyone, including the girls, stared at me. It grew very quiet before we heard the thundering of hooves. Riley rode up next to us and, with a flourish, waved his hat at the crowd, who cheered. How the hell did he know this was going to happen?

  "I'm leaving," I said as I started away. But the girls and Kelly wouldn't budge.

  "Janie, my darling!" Riley stepped down off his horse as another soldier took the reins.

  Cookie snorted and began to eat grass. The girls who hadn't seen him earlier surrounded him, squealing with joy at being reunited with the horse.

  "This lovely lady here," Riley said as he pulled me into his arms. "She owes this soldier, her fiancé, a kiss after his bravery in battle!"

  Without wasting one more second, Riley planted his lips on mine. I pulled away just in time to see Juliette Dowd filming it with her phone. Her devilish grin reminded me of a giant hyena circling a dying antelope. I knew exactly what she was going to do with that video.

  I pushed away from Riley, and he took a deep bow. Several women in the audience swooned. I didn't see too much because I ran behind one of the tents of the 47th Iowa Infantry, took out my cell, and called Rex.

  "Hey, babe!" my husband, the detective, answered brightly. "How's it going? Did you find the leg?"

  "How did you know about that?" I almost forgot my mission to intercept Juliette.

  "I'm having dinner with Ed Carnack. Oh, hang on, I just got a video texted to me."

  "That's what I wanted to talk to you about! Don't watch it!" I pleaded.

  "Riley kissed you?" His tone didn't even change. Then he began to laugh. "You should see your face. You must've been really angry."

  I relaxed. Of course Rex wouldn't be upset. He knew I'd never cheat on him.

  "Sorry for the panic," I said. "Riley did it so fast, and Juliette filmed it, so…"

  "So you thought I'd fly into a jealous rage." I heard a smile in Rex's voice. "Sorry to disappoint you."

  "Believe me, I'm not…" Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted the provost handing the Confederate who'd threatened Betty a long, rolled up blanket that could have a leg in it.

  "Gottagoloveyoubye," I whispered all in one breath and hung up as I slipped to the next tent to get a closer look.

  Provost Smith and the Rebel were in a small copse of trees on the tiny edge of Idiot Creek. And the Provost did not look happy to be handing the package over.

  "You just do yer bit," the Confederate said. "I'll have the rest to you later."

  The rest? Of what? The body?

  "This is a terrible idea," Smith said.

  And that is when I stepped on a twig, snapping it. It's also why hoop skirts are terrible for stakeouts. You can't see around your feet in a two-foot radius. I dove into the tent I was hiding behind.

  "Who's there?" the Confederate shouted.

  Of course I didn't answer.

  "It's nothing," I heard Smith say.

  "It's most likely that kid," the Rebel snarled. "You'd better do something about her, or I will!"

  I peeked through the flap to see that the men were gone. Then there was a tug on my skirts that nearly brought me down to the floor. My left leg shot out and hit the arm of whoever was holding on to me, and I heard a snap followed by a cry of pain.

  I turned to see the soldier who'd warned me on the battlefield sitting there, holding his broken arm.

  "Too bad this didn't happen in battle," the man said through gritted teeth.

  "Why did you try to pull me to the floor?" I asked, my back to the tent wall. A woman in a corset is an angry thing. I felt totally justified.

  "I tried to tell you earlier that you weren't safe." And then he passed out.

  I called Soo Jin on my phone and explained what had happened. Hanging up, I stared at the man. Yup. It was him alright. And I only had a few seconds. In a very unladylike manner, I made an awkward attempt to kneel down quickly in a way that I hoped told anyone who came in that I was trying to help.

  Searching the man's pockets, I pulled out only an antique pocket watch and a letter addressed to Zane Hill. Opening it quickly, I saw that it was a prop love letter from a woman named Nell. I shoved it back into his pocket as Soo Jin came into the tent.

  "What did you do?" she asked as she joined me on the ground.

  "I broke his arm. He tried to yank me down to the ground, and I kicked him. Hard."

  Soo Jin examined the arm. "It's not a bad break. Help me reset it."

  "You're joking," I said.

  She shook her head. "No, I'm not. Let's get this done before he wakes up."

  As ordered, I held the man by the shoulders as she gave the arm a quick tug. The bone seemed to snap back into place, but the man woke up with a scream.

  I let him go, and Soo Jin and I got to our feet. It took me a whole two minutes, and I had all the grace of an octopus thrashing about.

  "You set it!" the man moaned. "Why did you do that?"

  "Because you can't walk around with a broken arm," I answered. "Duh."

  "Get to the medic tent," Soo Jin demanded. "Now."

  The man did as he was told, and she followed him out of the tent. I was about ready to go when I spotted something gleaming where the man had been. It was a Girl Scout pin! It was unique because it was a five-year pin from Camp Singing Bird.

  And it belonged to someone in my troop. So why did he have it? I was just about to follow him and Soo Jin to the medic tent to get some answers when Kelly texted that the Magnolia Girls had arrived.

  At least I knew where to find this guy. My interrogation would have to wait, as a much more dangerous thing was about to happen.

  The Girl Scouts versus the Magnolia Girls.

  My money was on my troop.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  "Welcome to the North." Betty bowed with a flourish as I joined the group.

  Marie and the other girls wrinkled their noses and pushed past her. To her credit, Betty acted as if that slight hadn't bothered her. It would be a mistake to think this, however, because Betty was at her most dangerous when you didn't expect it. She once waited two years to get revenge on a kid who had made fun of her on the playground. I was pinkie sworn to secrecy when I found out, but I can tell you it involved bear repellant and dry ice.

  If Kelly was surprised by the similarities between her and Kim, she didn't show it. Instead, she motioned to the row of folding wood chairs she'd borrowed just to seat everyone. Soo Jin had to bow out since she was fixing the arm I broke. "Hershey bars and graham crackers?" Brooke made a face. "Why would you give us something that's commercially made?"

  Kelly apologized. "I am sorry. We didn't have enough time to make these things."

  "Oh well," Kim breezed. "It can't be helped. It's the spirit of the thing that matters, right, ladies?"

  I went to introduce my troop.

  Mary started the inquisition. "How many reenactments have you ladies done?"

  "This is the first one," Kelly replied.

  The other two leaders exchanged glances. "Oh," Mary said with a fake smile that could wilt magnolias. "That explains a lot really."

  Kelly intervened quickly. "Tell us about the Magnolia Girls!"

  Kim spoke up. "We were founded at the beginning of the 19th century. The Magnolia Girls were dedicated to the preservation of Southern manners."

  I wanted to say that was pretty rich for some girls from Bladdersly.

  Marie and the girls stood up and began reciting some sort of oath.

  "A Magnolia Girl is a precious and pure flower, making the world a lovelier place through grace and gentility."

  Brooke took over. "A Magnolia Girl is kind and caring—a pillar of the Three Values."

  The girl who'd been introduced as Claire continued. "Family, Church, Community. Those are the domain of the Magnolia Girl."

  "Oh brother," Betty whispered, rolling her eyes.

  Simone followed with, "A Magnolia Girl maintains the standards of cleanliness and godliness."

  "Seriously?" Inez whispered.

  Tara added, "For those are the tenets of gracious living and a life filled with beauty."

  Creepily, the four Kates stood and spoke in perfect unison. "In the eyes of God and our ancestors, we happily submit to this oath and swear to continue the tradition of the true, glorious Southern lady."

  Everyone was silent for a moment that ran a smidge too long. I wondered if I should have the girls do the same with the Girl Scout Law but doubted that they'd memorized it. And why should they? We'd been an active troop that had better things to do than memorize a 100-plus-year-old credo.

  "What does that mean?" Caterina asked what the rest of us were thinking.

  Marie looked like she really wanted to roll her eyes but restrained herself. "It means we are living graciously and upholding the fine values of femininity."

  "What does that mean?" Hannah asked.

  Claire got to her feet and announced in an exasperated tone, "It means we act like ladies, not tomboys."

  The other Magnolia Girls made faces and bobbed their heads in agreement.

  "So," one of the Kaitlyns asked, "you just walk around looking pretty and don't really do anything."

  One of the Kates stood to answer. "That's a crude way of putting it, but it's close enough."

  My girls looked at each other in surprise.

  "You don't go camping?" Ava asked. "Ride horses?"

  "Canoeing? Zipline? Ropes course?" Lauren added.

  "Absolutely not," Simone sniffed.

  "I'm sure we can think of something we have in common," Kelly soothed.

  "Well," Betty said as she sharpened a really large Bowie knife with a whetstone. Had she won that gambling? "We're all girls."

  I closed my eyes, waiting for her to say something catty, but she didn't. So I confiscated the knife and hid it in my tent.

  "How about some s'mores?" Kelly brandished the marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers like an olive branch.

  My girls stepped forward, offering each Magnolia Girl a freshly sharpened stick with a marshmallow before taking one for themselves. I was proud of their manners but suspected that Kelly had told them to do this before our guests arrived.

  Our guests stepped up carefully to the fire and roasted their marshmallows. My girls held back, presumably to impale these girls with their own sticks. Okay, so they didn't. That was just wishful thinking.

  When they were done, they stepped over to Kelly, who helped them finish the s'mores. Then my troop stepped up and toasted theirs. Betty's caught fire, and some of the Magnolia Girls stepped back in horror as she waited for it to flame out, leaving her with the equivalent of a charcoal briquette.

  "Perfect." Betty grinned as she took the charred remains of her marshmallow to Kelly.

  The Magnolia Girls didn't comment. Which was a good move on their part. And none of them stepped forward to make another s'more. My girls were different, making at least three more apiece, which they gave to us to eat. We offered some to Mary and Kelly, who each accepted only one s'more, eating it delicately before declining another.

 

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