Denise Swanson - Murder of a Sleeping Beauty

“No.” The word was whispered so low Skye wasn’t sure she had heard it.

Skye perched on the coffee table, which brought her knee to knee with Lorna. She took the other woman’s hand, “Do you know why he would take Linette and leave?”

Lorna jerked her hand away and grabbed a nearby wineglass. “No, why would I?” She gazed into the red liquid as if she would find the answer there.

“Could it have to do with what happened to Lorelei?” Skye persisted gently.

“No.” The woman shook her head wildly.

“Maybe Mr. Ingels thinks he’s protecting Linette by taking her away.”

Lorna’s head snapped up, and she narrowed her eyes, her whole body stiffening. “Why would you say that?”

The swift change in Lorna was a bit frightening. Skye stood to put some distance between them. “Ah, it’s really warm in here. All right if I let in a little air?” Without waiting for an answer, Skye moved toward the window and lifted it several inches.

Lorna’s mouth tightened. “I didn’t say you could do that.”

“Sorry, thought I was going to faint for a minute there. Can’t stand being hot.”

“You’d better leave now.” Lorna rose, finger-combed her hair, and straightened her robe, seeming to notice the large red wine stain near the waist for the first time.

Skye forced herself to go on. “I know this is hard for you to hear, hard for you to think about, but I found Lorelei’s diary. I know what you did.”

“Where? How? You can’t!” Lorna flung herself toward Skye. “I don’t believe you.”

Skye took a hasty step back, but Lorna had grabbed her wrist in a clawlike hold. “The diary was in a gap between the wall and her cheerleader locker. It tells everything,” Skye said.

“You had no right to read that.” Anger seemed to revitalize Lorna.

“Maybe not, but the police do have a right.”

Lorna’s flushed cheeks paled. “The police?”

“Yes, they’ll probably be here to arrest you at any minute. I just thought maybe you’d feel better if you talked about it. I can’t imagine what it would be like to kill my own daughter. It must be tearing you apart inside.” Skye felt a little queasy, as if she were pulling off the legs of an insect. But Wally said that they needed a confession, and it wouldn’t be fair to Lorelei if her death went unsolved.

“I never meant any of this to happen.” Lorna wilted again, releasing Skye’s hand. “A month ago I had a successful husband, two beautiful daughters, and a life that everyone in Scumble River envied.” She was silent for a moment before continuing, “You know, you can do something in an instant that will give you heartache for a lifetime.”

“Sounds like you were living a fairy tale. What made things go wrong?”

“It was all Lorelei’s fault.” Lorna sank into the love seat, facing away from Skye.

Skye was forced to move away from the door to see her face. “Lorelei’s fault?”

“She was a beautiful girl. And so smart and talented. She had everything. Sometimes I even thought she might be psychic.”

Skye blinked. Psychic? Please. “Sounds like she had it made.”

Lorna nodded eagerly. “That’s right. And was she happy? No. I made sure she had the most beautiful clothes. And for the pageants, she never had to wear a costume twice. I did everything to ensure she’d win. She could have been Miss America, but she wanted to throw it all away. I couldn’t let her do that.”

“How could you stop her?”

“I talked her out of quitting cheerleading and the play, and made her promise to do one last pageant.” Lorna gazed feverishly at Skye. “I figured if she won Miss Central Illinois, she’d see how important it was to go on, but she made sure she’d never get that crown.”

“By gaining weight?”

“Yes, she just kept eating. I knew that if I didn’t do something right away, she’d end up as fat as you. She wanted to eat three meals a day, for godsake. And she’d hardly exercise anymore. She was down to only three times a week at the gym. But that wasn’t the worst part.”

Skye overlooked the personal insult and guessed, “Lorelei stopped taking the diet pills?”

“Yes.” Lorna shook her head. “She got so fat. She went from a size two to a size eight in a matter of three or four months. None of her clothes or costumes fit. It was a nightmare. And she still wouldn’t take the pills.”

“It must have been hard to watch.” Skye hoped she wouldn’t gag on the words she was forcing out of her mouth. “So, you just had to do something to stop her.”

“To help her. I did it to help her.” Lorna suddenly lunged forward and grabbed Skye by the shoulders. “You’ve got to make sure everyone knows I only did it to help her.”

“Help her?” Skye tried to back away, but the woman was stronger than she looked, and her nails were digging into Skye’s flesh.

“Yes, I started slipping the diet pills into her food, but the dose she had been on before wasn’t working.” Lorna’s hands tightened on Skye’s shoulders.

“Lorelei didn’t know you were feeding her diet pills?”

“No, of course not, she wouldn’t have taken them if she knew.”

Skye tried to edge toward the door. “Oh, I see. So what happened?”

“I kept giving her higher and higher dosages. Then that Wednesday I was going to be away all afternoon and evening, and I was afraid she’d really binge if she didn’t get her pills.”

“How often did you feed her those pills?”

“Three times a day. Anyway, where was I? Oh, yes, so I took a bottle of her favorite juice and added a handful of crushed pills. After I met with the other cheerleaders’ mothers that morning, I found Lorelei and gave the drink to her. She loved that juice, and usually I didn’t let her have it since it was three hundred calories a bottle, so I knew she’d drink every drop.”

“Then you went out of town so you’d have an alibi.”

“What did I need an alibi for?” Lorna let go of Skye and looked confused. “I went to get my hair done.”

“An alibi for the murder of your daughter.”

“I didn’t murder Lorelei. Why would I want to kill my own daughter? It was an accident. I just wanted her to stay beautiful.”

“But you killed her.” The words slipped out before Skye could stop them. And judging from the look on Lorna’s face, they were a mistake.

Without warning the woman lunged and wrapped her hands around Skye’s throat. Both women toppled to the floor. Skye tore at the other woman’s hands, panicking at the sensation of not being able to breathe. It took her a moment to realize that Lorna was about half her size, and by flipping the smaller woman on her back, Skye easily pinned her to the ground, using her weight as leverage.

Lorna let go of Skye’s throat and started pounding on her chest. “You cow, get off me.”

Skye wished she had an extra hand to slap the hysterical woman. Instead she shouted, “Oh, my, look at the time.”

“What? Are you crazy? How can I look at the time with you on top of me?” The woman struggled. “You’re breaking my back. I’m going to sue, you fat cow.”

Skye ignored Lorna’s curses and threats. She had a bigger problem. What to do? Vince must not have heard her. For now, Lorna was secure, but if Skye got up off her, the woman would either run or attack again. They were at a stalemate.

Before Skye could formulate a plan, the front door slammed open, and Vince ran into the room saying, “Skye, something’s wrong with Mom. I heard a scream on the walkie-talkie and now I can’t get a response. You run for Charlie. I’m going out back to see what’s—” He stopped abruptly, staring.

Lorna grew still, and her demeanor changed instantly. “Vince, darling, your sister has gone crazy. She’s hurting me. Please help.”