McKenzie’s Branson Brainteaser by Shari Barr Page A

flashlights, lawn chairs, and a cooler. After bumping down a narrow dirt track, they arrived at the grassy creek bank.
    â€œWow! Look at the stars!” Sydney cried as she gazed at the sky. “I never see the stars back home in Washington DC.”
    â€œThe moon is so bright, we hardly need a light,” Miss Val said, lugging the tent from the SUV. “But I’ll leave the headlights on until we get the tent set up and the fire going.”
    They soon had camp set up and firewood blazing in the pit. When Miss Val was sure the girls didn’t need her anymore, she headed back to the house. “Call if you need anything. I can be here in two minutes, tops.”
    The girls set up their lawn chairs, away from the heat of the fire. McKenzie remembered the comment from Alexis about the spot on the anonymous note. She reached inside the tent and pulled the note from her bag.
    Holding it up to the fire, McKenzie said, “Look, Alexis is right. There is a spot on the corner that I never noticed before.”
    Sydney reached over and took the paper. “It feels kind of waxy. Maybe whoever wrote the note spilled wax on it.”
    McKenzie pursed her lips as she thought. She leaned back then turned to Sydney and grinned. “Or, maybe dripping wax fell on it, and where does dripping wax come from?”
    Sydney paused before answering. “A candle?”
    â€œThat’s right.” McKenzie felt her pulse quicken. “Remember the clerk in the candle shop at Silver Dollar City the other day? She was wearing a bracelet that looked like Mr. Ford’s work. Maybe she wrote this note.”
    â€œBut how would she know your name?” Sydney asked, the flames casting shadows across her face.
    McKenzie stared into the fire, watching the sparks flit about. “I just thought of something. When I was standing at her counter, I made a remark about meeting Miss Val back at the basket shop. And I think we called each other by name in front of her.”
    â€œThat’s right,” Sydney said. “The candle shop isn’t far from Miss Val’s basket shop. She probably knew Miss Val’s name and could have gotten her address off of Silver Dollar City’s computers or in the phone book. She probably knew we were staying with her, and it wouldn’t be hard to find out our names. We would know for sure she wrote the note if we could see how she dots her
i.”
    â€œI wish there was some way we could compare handwriting,” McKenzie said.
    â€œMaybe I can figure out a way when I’m at work tomorrow afternoon,” Sydney said.
    McKenzie nodded and stuck the note safely back in her duffel bag. “The fire is dying down enough for us to roast marshmallows.”
    The girls found a couple of good roasting sticks and got a bag of marshmallows from their gear. A couple of minutes later, Sydney pulled two perfectly golden brown marshmallows off her stick, while McKenzie’s looked like a flaming shish kebob. After swinging the stick through the air to put out the fire, McKenzie stared in dismay at the crispy black morsels on the end.
    â€œI hate the burned ones!” she exclaimed. She peeled the gooey marshmallows off the stick and flung them to the ground. As she licked the sticky mess from her fingers, her gaze traveled to the opposite side of the river. The woods looked dark and menacing as the breeze gently waved the branches in the treetops. The scratching of branches against each other made her imagination run wild. She could almost see wild animals leaping out of the jungle-like woods, swimming across the gurgling stream.
    She reached into her bag and pulled out the night vision goggles. Holding them to her eyes, she blinked as a movement in the trees caught her attention. “Sydney,” she whispered, jabbing her friend in the arm with her roasting stick. “I see something.”
    She watched as a shadowy figure moved stealthily along the bank, staying in