Denise Swanson - Murder of a Small-Town Honey

"Come in. I'm awake," Skye said.

"How are you feeling?" May sat on the edge of the bed and smoothed Skye's hair from her forehead.

"Okay. What day is this?"

"It's Friday. Doc Zello gave you a sedative and you've slept for almost two days."

"So, the thing with Mike and the car wasn't a dream?" Skye sat up and rubbed her face.

"No, I'm afraid not."

"What's been going on while I've been sleeping? Is Vince out of jail?"

May took the pillows and arranged them so Skye could lean back. "Vince has been home since yesterday. He's staying here until things calm down a little. He insisted on opening the shop for his eight o'clock appointment today, so your father drove him to work. Jed's cutting the grass at the shop for him."

"Now I know I'm dreaming," Skye said. "I can't believe Dad has given in."

May frowned. "I wouldn't say that to your father."

"No, of course not. What else has happened?"

"I'd better start at the beginning or we'll be here all day. Let's see. On Wednesday, right after Doc Zello started ex­amining you, Simon and Wally arrived. Both had heard the news on their scanners. They both wanted to talk to you, but Doc Zello said absolutely not."

"I'll bet the chief was ticked."

"Neither was a happy camper. They recovered Mike Young's body and the negatives late Wednesday afternoon. I had already called your friend Loretta. That is one tough lady lawyer. She really got them moving to release Vince.

Boy, was she mad when they wouldn't let him go Wednes-,.iy night. She's talking about a wrongful imprisonment suit."

"Wow. Anything else?"

"Oh my, yes. The police searched Mike Young's studio and found the gloves he wore when he stabbed Honey. They'd been washed, but blood always lingers." May got up from the bed. "They also found the surveillance camera he had rigged at Honey's condo and the listening device he had planted at your cottage."

Skye closed her eyes and wondered exactly what Mike could hear. She certainly hoped it didn't pick up sounds in the bathroom. "It must have been pretty busy around here." "You don't know the half of it. Everyone we know has stopped by to see how you and Vince are, and they all brought food. I can't get another thing in the freezer."

"Wow." Skye shook her head. "Gee, I'd love to take a shower and get into some fresh clothes. Could you go get me something to wear from my cottage?"

"Already done." May grinned. "I got you a couple of outfits and your cosmetics. I knew you'd never willingly face the world without some makeup. I'll bet you were the only Peace Corps volunteer in Dominica who wore mas­cara."

Simon and Charlie were sitting at the kitchen table when Skye emerged from the bathroom. Jed and Vince arrived shortly after that. Chief Boyd pulled in seconds later.

He strolled into the kitchen, nodded at its occupants and said, "Could I speak to you alone, Skye?"

Simon, Charlie, Vince, and Jed said no, but Skye spoke over their objections, "Sure, let's go into the den."

The den was really a fourth bedroom that had been equipped with a sofa, chair, and TV.

Before the door was fully closed, Wally whirled on Skye and ground the words out between his teeth, "What in

heaven's name possessed you to drive your car over the side of that bridge? You could have been killed. Are you crazy or just plain stupid?"

Skye took a step forward so that they were nearly nose to nose. "What should I have done? Waited for you to res cue me? I'd be dead now, and you'd still be trying to pin the whole thing on my brother."

"You could have ... ah ... you could have signaled someone for help." His tone lacked conviction.

"Right. There are so many people hanging out on Cattail Path."

"Well, you should have done something else."

"That's the point, Wally—there was nothing else to do. I would have rather died trying to get away than be shot like a helpless child."

Wally shrugged and eased himself into the La-Z-Boy. "Okay, tell me everything that happened from the time Mike appeared at your house." He clicked on a tape recorder. "All right if I use this?"

"Yes." Skye sat on the sofa and explained the events leading up to her kidnapping and Mike's death.

He nodded. "That's what we figured. We found all kinds of stuff that Mike must have stolen from his friends and customers. There must have been a hundred ashtrays alone. Why would he do that?"

She shrugged. "Must be something in his background. Some need he was trying to fill."

"Well, he didn't have an easy time of it with his father that's for sure. His dad was an alcoholic and liked to knock his family around when he was drunk."

"I never knew that. Is that common knowledge in town?"

"Might be. Hard to keep secrets in Scumble River. But it's one of those things everybody knows but no one talks about. Because if you admit to knowing it you'd have to do something about it. I only found out yesterday by looking

at old police records and questioning some of the older dis-patchers."

Skye stretched and got up. "At least we don't have to put everyone through the misery of a trial. You have enough to wrap things up, don't you?"

The chief grudgingly agreed that the people being black­mailed had suffered enough, so he would let the matter drop. Skye was sure his wife's involvement helped him make that decision.

Wally turned down May's invitation to lunch and left. The rest of them sat around the table and discussed the past few days as May began serving the food. First she placed a ham on the table and handed Jed the carving set. While he was occupied, she put out bowls of scalloped potatoes, Waldorf salad, creamed peas, pearl onions, and glazed carrots. Grandma Denison had sent over a batch of her rolls, served hot with butter. May poured iced tea and they dug in.

No one spoke until Skye finished her first helping and wiped her mouth with a napkin. "Charlie, I forgot all about the board meeting Tuesday night. What happened with Lloyd?"

Charlie snickered. "Oh, we fixed his wagon. The district is now accepting applications for a new junior high princi­pal."

"How did you manage that?" Skye reached past Vince for a roll.

Leaning back, Charlie took a generous swallow of his iced tea. "You remember when my house was broken into, right?"

"That was Mike, wasn't it?" Skye nabbed the butter as it was being passed.

"Nope, Lloyd did it. He was looking for Honey's year­book. I must have mentioned looking for it in front of him, and he got nervous about what he wrote by his name." Charlie sipped his drink.

"What made you realize that it was Lloyd?" Simon questioned.

"I didn't, but I took the opportunity when everyone was so involved in the murder to break into his office."

"Oh, Uncle Charlie, how could you?" Skye's knife hov­ered above the half-buttered roll.

"I knew there was something fishy about that guy. It turns out he and Mike Young had a scheme going with the school pictures. Say someone bought a package worth twenty-five dollars. Lloyd and Mike would take half the money and the records would show a payment of only twelve-fifty. The school board always wondered why the junior high's profit on that fund-raising activity was so much less than the other two schools." Charlie folded his hands over his stomach and grinned.

Vince wondered out loud, "So, Lloyd broke into your house and you broke into Lloyd's office. Where was Mike Young in all of this?"

"Getting ready for his date with me, no doubt." Skye shot Vince a look.

Simon added, "Don't forget he was also searching Honey's condo, rigging the surveillance camera, and bug­ging Skye's cottage. I'd say he was pretty busy."

"I want to know how he got hold of my shears," Vince said.

Skye answered, "Chief Boyd explained that. Turns out, in addition to his other nasty habits, Mike took things."