Crime at Cripple Creek (The Sisters Week Series #1)



  Crime at Cripple Creek

  Elizabeth Sherry

  Copyright Scarecrow Books 2013

  All rights reserved. Except for the use in review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to the actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Books by Elizabeth Sherry:

  Under the Aspens (The Aspen Series #1)

  The Aspens Fall (The Aspen Series #2)

  Remember the Aspens (The Aspen Series #3)

  The Aspens End (The Aspen Series #4)

  The Aspens Collection (The Aspen Series Box Set)

  Crime at Cripple Creek (The Sisters Week Series #1)

  Murder at Myrtle Beach (The Sisters Week Series #2)

  Trapped In Tunica (The Sisters Week Series #3)

  The Sister’s Week Series: Volumes 1-3 (Box Set)

  Crime at Cripple Creek

  Elizabeth Sherry

  Chapter 1

  “The time’s finally here. I’ll see you in a few hours and then we can let the fun begin!” Beth told her sister, Joy. After a quick conversation ended, Beth hung up the phone. She had a lot to do before her trip.

  Beth had two sisters and the three of them tried to get away together for at least two weeks out of the year. The three sisters called this time their “sisters’ week”.

  Beth started her packing for her trip to Colorado. She lived outside of Atlanta, Georgia, and worked managing a major grocery store. She was so looking forward to getting away from all the stress and upheaval of the job, even if it was only for one week.

  Joy, the middle sister, lived in Colorado and had the stress of branch manager of a bank. So, she too needed a break.

  The youngest of the three sisters is Lynn, who lived in North Carolina and worked two jobs and just last month got her degree in health care.

  When the sisters got together they tried to leave all the negative stuff in their lives behind because sisters’ week was the time for laughter and fun. None of the sisters were married, nor in a serious relationship at this time. They worked very hard at their careers, and it had been over seven months since their last time together, so they were all looking forward to this week.

  So, as Beth packed she tried to decide exactly what she would be doing, and where she would be going while on vacation, so she knew what she needed to pack. She knew she was going to Colorado but didn’t know all the places they would visit while in Colorado.

  They’d be staying in a large cabin in the mountains close to Cripple Creek. Although Joy lived in Colorado her home was outside of Colorado Springs so she also needed to get completely way. They planned to relax in the hot tub, do some craft projects, and have a few drinks. But most of all, they planned to have lots of laughter fitted into this week.

  Since it was June, Beth knew she would bring lots of summer clothes, along with a couple of pairs of sandals. But the evenings usually were a little chilly, so she also packed a couple of pairs of jeans and sweaters. Even though they planned to be together for only one week, Beth always seemed to bring a lot of luggage when traveling, but then, so did both her sisters.

  Beth counted the hours till she had to leave for the airport. Her thoughts took her to the break-up of her last serious relationship. She truly thought her and Mac would make it to the altar. But three weeks ago, he told her that he had been seeing someone else besides her, and wanted to marry the other woman.

  The pain diminished some. Getting mad seemed to help with that. And also the thoughts of time spent with her sisters soon gave her something to look forward to.

  She remembered back when she and the other two sisters weren’t very close. They always felt the love for each other, but hadn’t gotten together for years. Now that they were getting a little older, they knew they would each be getting involved in serious relationships and possibly getting married and having families. Beth was the oldest, at the age of thirty-two. Joy was twenty-six years of age, and Lynn was twenty four. So the few years that all three were still single, they wanted to continue getting together.

  Beth was finally almost all packed. All she had left was her toiletries from the bathroom and those she’d pack early in the morning just before the drove to the airport.

  She already emailed both of her sisters and reminded them to pack their bathing suits for the hot tub, and reminded Joy, again, of her arrival time in Denver. Joy planned to pick her and Lynn up in Denver, and from there they arranged to drive to Woodland Park and pick up the key to the cabin, along with the directions on how to get to the cabin. Then they’d make a stop at the grocery store before they headed to the cabin.

  Beth and Joy both had Celiac’s Disease and could not eat gluten. Celiac Disease was an allergy to wheat, rye, and barley, among other grains. So, while at the cabin they always cooked gluten-free food. Plus, they ate a lot of fruit and salads, and of course, chocolate. So they usually hit the grocery store and stocked up on whatever they felt like having for the week. They ate out some, but mostly they fixed simple meals at the cabin.

  Since the packing was finished for the night, next on her list was a long hot bath. Then a good night’s sleep and she would be rested for an early flight tomorrow.

  It’s four o’clock in the morning when Beth woke up from a wonderful night’s sleep. Her first stop was the kitchen and the coffee maker. Neither of her sisters drank coffee any longer, but Beth hadn’t kicked the habit and probably wouldn’t.

  She enjoyed her second cup of caffeine, when she saw it’s time for a quick shower and picked out her clothes for traveling. She found it hard to tapper down her excitement. She was like a kid at Christmas time.

  Finally she was ready and as she loaded her suitcases in the car, her thought were on the drive through downtown Atlanta to the airport. She prayed there weren’t any traffic jams on the way.

  She was wearing jeans and a light sweater of her favorite shade of green. She’s only a little over five feet tall but she was slight in stature so she wore just about anything and it looked good. She decided to wear her ash blond hair pulled back with a banana clip, and her make-up was simple and light. As she glanced again in the bathroom mirror she saw the green sweater accented her blue eyes. People had commented on how telling her eyes were. Someone once said she had very honest eyes, which to Beth meant her eyes gave away her feelings. Another quick glance in the mirror and she knew she would feel comfortable on the plane for the three hour flight.

  As she drove to the park-n-ride parking lot, she sang along to the radio. She always used the park and ride services instead of parking at the airport. They shuttled people back and forth and it was so much easier than trying to get out of the airport during rush hour.

  Going through the security checkpoint always made her a little nervous. Seemed a time or two she accidentally packed some perfume and lotion in her carry-on luggage, which was a no no. Since then though, she tried to be more careful. She really didn’t like throwing away a full bottle of her favorite lotion.

  She got through security without any problems, and made her way to the tram which took her to her gate. After she reached her gate, she pulled out her kindle rea
der and started to read a new book she downloaded by a new author. The book was a short one, so she knew she would finish it by the time she landed in Denver.

  While she sat at her gate, she wondered what silliness she and her sisters would get into on this trip. They sometimes did some very silly things, but that’s the times they laughed so hard that they all had to make a quick dash for the bathroom. She had some great memories of the times they laughed the most. Her mind wondered into the past until they announced the boarding process had started. Now she got excited, and the closer the plane got to Denver, the more excited she was.