Murder of a Royal Pain

“What a jerk.” Trixie looked worried. “We need to find out if Annette was really the intended victim. Any ideas on how we can do that?”

“Kurt and I discussed it, and he’s going to help.” Skye gave Trixie a summary of her conversation with the reporter, finishing with, “So, he’s going to check Nina Miles out—see if she tells him anything she didn’t share with us—and I’ll talk to Evie. We’ll both look into Annette.” Hope had made Skye promise not to tell anyone about her history or Quirk’s threat, so she couldn’t share that info with Trixie.

“Don’t you think it’s odd that Kurt’s around whenever something happens?”

“Not really. He’s just doing his job.” Skye hadn’t mentioned his flirting. She pushed aside the memory of his almost kissing her, and told herself the reason for keeping it from Trixie was that he was only teasing. “Besides, with the police department not giving me any information, I need his help.”

Trixie raised an eyebrow, but didn’t pursue the matter. “What do you want me to do?”

“Evie and Nina have daughters at the high school, and Hope has a son. Maybe you could chat with them. Kids usually know more than their parents think they do, and you could run into them more casually than I can.”

“Okay.” Trixie stood. “I’ll let you know if the kids have anything interesting to say.”

After Trixie left, Skye ate the last cookie in the package and threw the cellophane away. Happily, she had purchased Oreos at the grocery store Sunday after church, and thus there was a new package in the bottom of her drawer for the next day. It had gotten so that she couldn’t get through the afternoon without her cookie fix.

As Skye carefully wiped the crumbs from the top of her desk, and made sure none had fallen to the floor—Homer would kill her if she attracted ants—she thought about how she could approach Dylan Paine. She needed to find out if the dental Don Juan had murdered his wife.

How do you get to see a dentist? By developing a toothache. A few seconds later, Skye had Dr. Paine’s receptionist on the phone, and was reassuring the woman that although her tooth was throbbing, and Dr. Paine wasn’t reopening his office until the day after tomorrow, she didn’t want a referral to another dentist. The woman reluctantly said that Dr. Paine could see Skye at four p.m. on Thursday.

Skye wrote the appointment on her calendar, picked up her purse, and stood. As she got to her feet, she felt dizzy and a little nauseated. The half dozen cookies she had eaten on an empty stomach must not have agreed with her.

Skye resolved to go straight home and rest—as soon as she made two stops. First she’d go to Evie’s house to ask her what Annette was holding over her head, then to Aunt Minnie’s to make sure the correct version of Wally’s absence was circulating on the grapevine. When they’d talked Sunday night, she’d gotten Wally’s okay to reveal the info about his reason for being out of town, but Skye hadn’t had a chance to visit her aunt until now.

Evie lived in a beautiful old Victorian next to her husband’s church. A fifty-something man in a clerical collar answered Skye’s knock. “Yes?”

“Hello, Reverend.” Skye smiled at the handsome minister. “May I speak to Evie, please?”

“I’m sorry—she’s not receiving visitors today.” He tried to shut the door.

Skye put her foot in his way.“Could you tell her it’s Skye Denison, about Promfest?”

“I’ll tell her you stopped by.” His icy blue eyes dared her to cause a scene. “But she’s resting now, and I won’t disturb her.”

Skye refused to be intimidated. “Will you give her a note from me?”

He inclined his head, and Skye noticed that his thick white hair didn’t move. She hurriedly grabbed a legal pad from her tote, then searched its depths for a pen. Reverend Harrison sighed and handed her the one from his shirt pocket.

Skye admired the sleek Mont Blanc as she wrote:Dear Evie,I need to talk to you ASAP. Call me by tomorrow or I’m dropping out of the haunted house.Skye Denison

As soon as she handed Reverend Harrison the folded page, he shut the door in her face. It sure seemed as if Evie was avoiding Skye. What did the woman have to hide?

CHAPTER 18

Something in the Air

Aringing phone woke Skye from a disturbed sleep. She still hadn’t felt well when she got home from her aunt’s, and had stretched out on the love seat in the sunroom trying to get her head to stop spinning. She must have dozed off, because according to the clock on the VCR it was now eight p.m.

She struggled to get up, her neck and back aching from sleeping on the too-short surface. Stumbling to the kitchen, she snatched the receiver off the hook.

A male voice said, “Hello. Uh, this is Xavier Ryan.”

“Oh, hi, Xavier.” Skye tried to clear her mind. “Is Frannie okay?”

“Depends on your definition of okay.”

Uh-oh. “What’s up?” Skye wedged the receiver between her ear and shoulder and moved over to the sink.