Three friends, a haunting loner in the woods and a scam that has cost a girl's life -- collide at the Whooten State Forest. 

Fog seemed to be on her attacker’s side – because where it was hard for Petula to see, her attacker was moving easily, cutting through the underbrush with haste. But Petula refused to give up, running with her arms swinging wildly, her legs churning up ground, tall grass knifing her ankles.

She pushed aside the drooping tree limbs, creating a narrow path through the woods as she ran through the dense fog, desperate to reach the nearest open sand road. Her breath caught in her throat. She gasped and pushed forward, racing against time, eager to widen the space that separated her and the stranger chasing her.

**********

She’d first seen the man, a bushy salt and pepper beard covering the bottom of his face and a black and red bandana wrapped about his head, while she had been backing her class A recreational vehicle into a parking spot at New Jersey’s Whooten State Forest campground.

Two brown and white Basenj dogs, their ears erect, short tails curled, had stood on each side of the man. They followed him as he came within inches of her RV. She’d been studying the area through her RV’s rearview mirror, checking to ensure that she wasn’t about to back into trees or someone’s pet.

“I can spot you,” he told her, his alto voice gruff, yet gentle, kind.

She turned away from him and rolled her eyes. “No, thank you.” A series of heart-breaking relationships and living alone in Atlanta, Georgia had made her fiercely independent and more cautious of strangers, watching true crime TV series only deepened her distrust. It had reached the point where her friends told her that she was going to regret being overly independent and cautious. Although they cloaked their perception in humor, Petula knew that her friends sincerely meant it when they teased that she was far too solo-strong, too committed to the single life. And yet, when she looked at the man a second time, instead of accepting his help, she twisted her mouth and rolled her eyes again.

As if he hadn’t heard her, he came closer to the RV and started tapping his knuckles on the vehicle’s front side, just below the driver’s window.

“Said I don’t need anyone to spot me,” Petula repeated, a deep frown roughing up her forehead. “I’ve backed my RV into a parking space on my own many times.”

The strange man smiled, revealing his cracked, brown-stained teeth. “Got one of those backup cameras, do you?”

Punching the accelerator, she sped her black and gold RV backwards, inches in front of a row of trees. Normally, she would have exited the vehicle, to check for scratches and to retrieve parking levelers out of the RV’s bottom storage area. Yet, there the man stood, unwilling to move.

Checking that all doors, including the emergency roof exit, were secured, she stood and walked to the back of the RV. When she caught the man looking through the large side windows, she pulled the black shades and knelt below the window, hiding.

She listened to the sound of leaves crunching underfoot as the man walked away from her RV. Relief she felt showed in her lowered shoulders, could be heard in the thick breath escaping her mouth.

The relief, though sweet, was short, quick like a sprinter’s thrust.

The man sneered, his voice threatening. “I’ll be watching you.”

Fear turned into anger. She’d traveled to the area to visit with her friends, Gloria and James, a couple she’d known since college. No way was she going to let this strange man run her off. Despite what the man may have thought; she told herself that she didn’t owe him her time. On top of that, if the man was attempting to flirt with her, she thought he was doing an awful job.

“Men,” she sighed. During college and her early working years, Petula’s life had been filled with a string of broken relationships, men she’d given her heart to lying to her while they tried to hide painful affairs. Her last breakup had come two years ago, with a man Petula had dated for three years, a man who’d left her colleague, Veronica, to start dating her.

Now single and to avoid further heartache, Petula vowed to never fall in love again. Armed with a master’s degree, her life was filled with work. On top of logging 60 to 80 hours a week at Custom Accounting Designs, Petula volunteered on weekends at a housing company that built homes for families facing homelessness. Her schedule had been so full that she’d scarcely found time to travel to Ohio to visit with her sister, Ariana. She needed this trip, downtime to rest, relax, and have fun with her friends.

The strange man’s last words echoing in her mind, she hurried to the front door and yanked it open. “What?” she screamed. In an instant, her anger subsided, turned into shock. She stepped back and gasped when she saw a familiar keychain hanging out of the man’s pocket. “Custom Accounting Designs,” she whispered, leaning forward, staring at the keychain. Looking at the man’s head, she made out a bright green Army patch sewn into his bandana’s top right corner.

Seconds later, her gaze fastened on him and his dogs. “I don’t know you. Mind your business. Leave me alone.”

The dogs snarled, their jagged teeth showing like hard, sharp blades, eager to draw blood.

As if starving for a fight, the man let go of their leashes and the dogs sprinted toward her.

Petula pulled the door closed, but not before the dogs slammed into the RV, barooing and growling.

Half an hour passed before she opened the front door again, climbing out of the luxury RV and retrieving the parking levelers out of the bottom storage bin, refusing to be imprisoned by the man’s threats. “I haven’t done anything to him,” she mused. “I don’t even know him, and I’m not about to spend my vacation hiding in my RV or anywhere else.” Plus, she was no longer alone.

During the half hour that she’d been hiding in her RV, two Fifth Wheels, a van and another Class A had parked to the right of her RV. On the left side of her RV were acres of forest. Six kids played in an open area at the front of the vehicles. Watching the kids play brought back memories of the fun she’d had playing as a kid with her sister, Ariana, and their best friends, Trisha and Bernadette, so much so that she smiled.

She inhaled deeply, her shoulders rising then expanding as she admired the area, bountiful with tall trees, underbrush, waterways and wildlife like black bear, coyotes, wolves, raccoons and bobcats.  

“Hey,” a tall, slender woman, her red hair pulled back in a ponytail, called out. She was looking at Petula. Before Petula responded, the woman started walking in her direction, a smile lighted upon her blemish free face. “My name’s Ashleigh.” Looking over her shoulder, she said, “And that’s my husband, Byron. The shortest of the six kids playing over there are ours, two boys and a girl. We went into town for groceries earlier today.”

Petula backed away from Ashleigh still shaken from her encounter with the strange man.

“My family loves to camp,” Ashleigh smiled. She opened her arms and turned from side to side, admiring the landscape. “Nothing is as amazing as nature.”

“Yes. Yes,” Petula nodded, being drawn in by Ashleigh’s kindness. “And what a beautiful family,” she said, looking at Ashleigh’s kids playing twenty yards away. She shook Ashleigh’s hand. “My name’s Petula.”

Ashleigh kept smiling. “Just getting here?”

            “Yes. Pulled in about half an hour ago.”

            “It’s gorgeous out here. We’ve been at this campground for five days. Think you’re really going to like it.”

            “I’m just passing through on my way to Bensalem. Want to check out Newtown and the summer shops there and get to Neshaminy State Park. But really, I’m going to visit with friends.”

            “That’s what I love about RVing,” Ashleigh said. “You can travel, catch the best sights and visit family and friends without thinking about hotel costs.”

            Petula nodded. “True.”

            “While you’re out here, make sure you use good insect repellant. The ticks and fleas are bad, especially this time of year.”

            “I figured as much about the fleas,” Petula said. “It is June, but ticks.” She scrunched up her face. “Wasn’t counting on having to deal with ticks.” After a pause, she said, “Speaking of things to look out for, during the five days that you’ve been at the campground, have you seen a guy with a beard and two dogs around here?”

            Ashleigh shook her head. “Can’t say that I have.”

            “He was here when I pulled up half an hour ago.”

            “Oh,” Ashleigh laughed. “I think I know who you’re talking about. He’s like in his fifties or something?”

            “Yeah.” She chewed her bottom lip, recalling the keychain, then she asked, “Does he work around here?”

            “Don’t know. Like I said, we’ve only been here for five days. Every time I’ve seen him, he’s been in this area or off this hiking path. There’s a prohibited sign in front of the off-grid hiking path. At least three times, I’ve seen him walk way back in the area until I couldn’t see him anymore. He’s handsome, looks like a tall James Dean. Another thing – he always has those brown and white dogs with him. I think they’re Basenjs. Those dogs are great hunters, and I do mean great hunters. Because of the way their larynx is made, they don’t even bark, making a long baroo type sound instead. People call it barooing. They’re very protective of their owners. If you have small pets, keep your eye on them.”

            “I don’t have small pets. But is that guy cool? Is he okay? Do you know him?”

            “No. My husband and I have seen him around here maybe four to five times over the last few days. He’s always by himself with those dogs.” She shrugged. “He doesn’t bother anybody.” Suddenly, Ashleigh laughed. “You’re not single, are you?”

            Stepping back, Petula waved her hand. “Oh, no. It’s not that at all. I’m not hardly looking for a man. I already have one,” she lied.

            Ashleigh laughed. “Well, good for you, because there isn’t a lot out here as far as high-quality available men goes.” She searched Petula’s face, noted her furrowing brow and the squint in her eyes. “But back to the guy, as far as I know, he’s okay. His name is Paul. At least, that’s what he told Byron and me. I haven’t heard anybody else say anything about him. He seems to know this area well. He might be from here.” She shrugged. “Maybe he works around here somewhere. Sure you’ve never crossed paths with him before?” She eyeballed Petula.

            “I’ve never seen him before.” Shaking her head, she said, “He asked if I wanted a spotter when I was backing in—” She rolled her eyes upwards, then waved her hand. “--Never mind. It’s nothing.” She shook her head. “It’s probably nothing.”

            “Why don’t you come over to our RV tonight? It’s the green and yellow Fifth Wheel over there,” Ashleigh said, glancing over her shoulder. “We’re cooking out and we could play a good game of cards with you and some of our neighbors.”

            Petula grinned. “You all don’t play for money, do you?”

            “No. No. No,” Ashleigh laughed. “We just play for fun.”

            “Okay,” Petula smiled. “I’ll be there.”

            Out of the corners of her eyes, she spotted Paul peering around a corner at the back edge of the campground, about two hundred yards from where Ashleigh and she stood. “Maybe I should move my RV closer to yours,” she said, glancing toward the campground’s back corner.

            Ashleigh followed her gaze. “Let me go get Byron. We’ll help you get moved, and don’t worry. We’ll keep an eye out for you. Paul’s probably harmless, but it never hurts to be careful.”

            Twenty minutes later, Petula’s RV was parked next to Ashleigh’s and Byron’s, and Petula was breathing easier, not taking in quick, shallow breaths. That night, she enjoyed playing several hands of spades with Ashleigh, Byron and two other couples. While the adults played cards, the kids played tag and rode their bikes in the open area in front of the RVs. The scent of the hot dogs and Worcestershire sauce seasoned hamburgers the adults had cooked on the grill earlier lingered, attracting fleas and gnats.

            Most of the insects got caught in the bug lamps hanging at the side of the Fifth Wheel. The sound of the insects buzzing as they hit the lamps was drowned out by the pop, rhythm and blues and country music playing on the iPod at the edge of the folding table that the couples played cards around. The music, card playing, and conversation relaxed Petula. “I was overreacting about Paul,” she leaned back in the folding chair and mused. “Everyone here is nice. There’s nothing to worry about.”

Look for this new mystery novel soon!