Murder of a Royal Pain

“She’s the vic, and it’s her murder he’s investigating.” McCabe slammed the door, after muttering, “I can’t spend all night here jawing with you. I gotta get back on the road.”

A few seconds later Skye heard the squad car’s engine roar to life and its tires squeal as McCabe tore out of the garage. Lost in thought, Skye walked over to the soda machine and whacked it above the coin return with the heel of her hand. A can of Jolt fell into the dispenser. She scooped out the high-voltage cola, popped the top, and took a long swallow. She felt an instant caffeine surge, and her nervous system went on red alert, but she shrugged. What the heck, she wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight anyway.

If Quirk is only concentrating on investigating people who might want to kill Annette, and she wasn’t the intended victim, there’s a one-in-three chance that the next dead body to turn up might be mine.

CHAPTER 14

Stand by Me

“Hello?” Skye squinted at the clock radio. It was six a.m. She’d been asleep for only three hours, having, as she predicted, tossed and turned for most of the night. Who could be calling her at this ungodly hour? Shoot! She should have let the machine pick up. What if her mother had decided to nag her long-distance?

“Hi, sugar. Sorry to wake you, but I wanted to make sure to catch you at home.” Wally’s silky voice smoothed over her like expensive body lotion. “I got your messages too late to call you back yesterday. Is everything okay?”

“I’m glad you called. I miss you.” Skye ignored Wally’s question. She’d tell him all about the murder and the rumors in a minute, but first she wanted to shake off her sleep-deprived fog and focus. “How’s your dad?”

“He seems to be doing fine,” Wally answered. “In fact, he’s trying to talk the doctors into letting him out of the hospital.”

“It’s wonderful that he’s feeling that much better. Does that mean you’re coming home soon?”

“I’m not sure. I wish I were, but things are still up in the air here. Dad wants me to stay. And the doctors can’t figure out why he collapsed in the first place.”

“Oh.” Skye was surprised by the depth of her disappointment. “Could it have been exhaustion? Your father struck me as someone who would work twenty-four/seven if he could.”

“That’s one of the things they’re considering, but they want to run more tests. At this point, it’s a process of elimination.”

“Well, it’s good that they’re being thorough.” Skye adjusted the pillows behind her back so she could sit up more comfortably. “That way when they say he’s all right, you’ll know they’re sure and you won’t have to worry that they missed something.”

“Right.” Wally’s voice was oddly gentle. “How did you make out with the haunted house? Did you overcome your fear or has it been as terrible as you expected?”

“Haven’t you talked to Roy?”

“No. He’s next on my list.” Wally sounded concerned. “What happened? Did some of the kids get out of hand?”

“I wish.” Skye blew out a long breath. “Annette Paine was murdered.”

“What!” Wally bellowed. “Son of a B. Why didn’t Quirk call me?”

Should she tell Wally her theory behind Quirk’s silence? No. She didn’t want to sound whiny. “He probably didn’t want to bother you.”

“Why do I think that’s not his entire motive?” Wally asked. “So, tell me, from the beginning, what’s happened in the thirty-six hours I’ve been gone.”

Skye launched into a detailed explanation, ending with, “I talked to Otto McCabe last night, and—”

Wally broke in, “Don’t tell me Quirk called in McCabe to work.”

“Oops.” Skye hadn’t realized that McCabe was on Wally’s “Do Not Call” list. Now when Wally talked to Quirk, it would seem as if Skye were a tattletale. “Uh, could you pretend you don’t know that? I don’t think Quirk likes me too much to begin with, and his thinking I’ve been snitching to his boss isn’t going to help matters.” Skye bit her lip. “In fact, you need to pretend you haven’t heard about the murder.”

“No.” Wally’s voice was firm. “We’re not playing that game. If Quirk has an issue with you, we’ll deal with it. He needs to understand I hired you as the psych consultant because of your skill as an investigator, not because of your skill in bed—although that’s outstanding, too.”

“Wally!” Skye felt her cheeks flush.

“Just the facts, ma’am,” he said with a trace of laughter, then turned serious. “But back to my point. If Quirk resents you, the three of us will take care of that when I get back, but that doesn’t give him the right to try to make an end run around either of us.”

Skye was silent, not sure what to say. Although she was thrilled by Wally’s fierce loyalty, she didn’t want to be the reason he and his best officer argued.

Wally seemed to read her mind. “Whatever happens, none of it is your fault.”