Murder of a Royal Pain

“But whoever strung the rope would also have had to make you run down the hall.” Wally turned into the high school parking lot.

“That was part of my act. When the audience stepped into the passageway, I was supposed to jump out from behind a panel, scare them, and then run away and disappear behind another panel at the opposite end of the hall.”

“That’s not a very efficient way to kill someone.” Wally got out of the car, went around to the other side, and opened Skye’s door. “Maybe it was meant to be a joke.”

“Maybe, but someone tried to run me over Sunday after church, too.”

He stopped and swung her around to face him. “Why didn’t you ever tell me that?”

“Quirk sort of convinced me it was an elderly driver who mistook the gas pedal for the brake, and at that time we still thought Annette or one of the other witches was the intended victim.”

“But now you wonder.”

“Yes.” Skye took a deep breath. “I think either the crazy parent who slashed my tires tried to kill me, or Dylan Paine murdered his wife, thinks I saw something that will incriminate him, and is now trying to silence me before I realize what I saw.”

“What makes you think that?”

Skye explained about Zinnia Idell’s presence at the haunted house and Dr. Paine’s affairs. Wally nodded and spoke briefly to Anthony, the officer at the door; then they walked silently to Skye’s office. When they crossed the threshold, Skye was glad that poor Gloria had been taken away—she’d seen enough dead bodies to last her a lifetime.

Reid stood waiting for them, then without preamble said, “Cameron Unger arrived at midnight to pick up his mother, Gloria, who worked the four-to-twelve shift as the high school custodian. When she didn’t come out by twelve fifteen, he went in looking for her. He had a key, since he works as a custodian at the elementary school and sometimes subs for his mother at the high school. He found her sitting at Skye’s desk. She was unresponsive and he called for an ambulance. The EMTs summoned me as soon as they verified she was dead.”

“But Cameron reported she had a heart condition?” Wally asked. “So why involve the police?”

Simon looked at Skye. “Have you filled him in on events since he’s been gone?” She nodded and he continued. “At first, I was ready to believe it was natural causes, but then I looked at the scene and saw this.” He led them around the desk and pointed to the bottom drawer. It was pulled out, and an open package of Oreos was propped up against the side. “I take it those are yours?”

“Yes.” Skye felt her face grow hot. Great. Now both Simon and Wally knew she gobbled down cookies while she worked.

“I also take it you didn’t leave your desktop like this?” Simon directed their attention to a scattering of chocolate crumbs.

“No, of course not.” Skye shook her head for emphasis. “My mother raised me better than that.”

“I figured as much,” Simon murmured, half to himself.

“I always clean up before I leave,” Skye continued. “I don’t want to attract ants.”

“Which means Gloria was having a snack,” Wally concluded. “Have you noticed cookies missing before?”

“No.” Skye closed her eyes, thinking. “But I have noticed the level in my candy jar seemed to be going down faster than it should. I give treats to the kids I test, and Trixie has a few pieces whenever she stops by, but they should be the only ones eating from the jar. I keep it filled with candy I don’t like so I’m not tempted.” All three of them looked at the jar in question, which was empty. “In fact, before I left today I noticed it was out of candy, and made a note to myself to bring in a bag on Monday to replenish it.”

“So it’s reasonable to assume that Gloria was in the habit of eating some candy when she cleaned your office.” Simon pursed his lips. “And when there was none in the jar, she looked to see if you had any in the drawer, found your stash of Oreos, and helped herself.”

“That all makes sense.” Wally nodded. “But what does it have to do with her death? Unless you’re saying you think Skye poisoned her.”

“I’m sure it wasn’t Skye, but someone definitely tampered with those Oreos.”

CHAPTER 22

Destiny Awaits

“You think someone put poison in my cookies?” Skye squeaked. That was just plain wrong—Oreos were sacred, the food of the gods. People should respect that.

“Your imagination has run away with you, Reid,” Wally said, his voice edged with impatience.

“Not at all.” Simon’s tone was unruffled. “As Skye will tell you, I don’t have an imagination. I only deal in cold, hard facts.”

“And they are?”

“When I saw Skye on Wednesday, she mentioned she’d been feeling sick on and off for the past few days. Her symptoms, together with Gloria’s death and some further evidence, made me consider the possibility of poisoning.”

Wally turned his scowl on Skye. “You never told me you weren’t feeling well.”

Skye felt like an escaped prisoner caught in a searchlight. “The flu is going around. I thought I was getting it.”

“But you told Reid you were sick.”