Murder of a Royal Pain

She considered going to see Elvira Doozier. Earl’s statement had raised some important questions that only she could answer, but with a Doozier, often the direct approach wasn’t the way to go. Especially since Elvira’s sister-in-law would probably refuse to let Skye talk to the girl without extorting another Wal-Mart outfit from her. Glenda had already blackmailed Skye once that weekend, dangling Earl’s information over her head for bait, and it wasn’t going to happen again.

After careful consideration, Skye decided to concentrate on Dr. Paine. Knowing that he saw patients from eight a.m. to four p.m. on Saturdays, she decided to chat with him at the haunted house that evening. Wally wasn’t thrilled when she called him and told him her plan, but he agreed, as long as she took Anthony with her for backup.

Skye and the young officer arrived at the old American Legion hall early. Anthony stationed himself within earshot, but out of sight, and Skye approached Dylan Paine, who was playing a handheld video game as he reclined on the operating table in the Frankenstein scene.

“Hi, Dr. Paine.”

“Hello, Skye.” He sat up, appearing sheepish. Even though he hadn’t seen Skye when she’d opened the door on him and Evie, he’d probably noticed afterward that she’d signed in at the exact same time he’d been “thoroughly occupied.”

Skye felt no obligation to spare his feelings. “I stopped by for my Thursday appointment, but you were busy with Evie.”

“Oh. Yeah. The receptionist forgot to tell me you were coming in. Sorry.” Dylan gave her a “boys will be boys” smile. “Did you reschedule?”

“No. I didn’t really have a toothache; I just wanted to talk to you.”

“About what?”

“Your wife’s murder.”

Dylan frowned. “She wasn’t murdered. The police said it was an accident.”

“I think they were wrong.”

“Really? Why?”

He sure didn’t seem upset by her questions or the idea that his wife might have been a murder victim. Skye decided to try to shake him up. “It just seems too convenient. She was going to divorce you and take half your assets. You couldn’t let that happen. And as a dentist, you knew all about how to trigger a fatal asthma attack.”

Dylan threw back his head and laughed. “You’ve been listening to the gossips, haven’t you?”

“I saw your infidelity with my own eyes.”

“Annette knew all about my affairs, and she didn’t give a damn. All she cared about was my money and being Mrs. Dr. Paine. I found out early in our marriage that she never loved me. She was happy that I got my itch scratched elsewhere and didn’t bother her.” For a second his expression saddened. “She would never have divorced me. In a weird way, we were made for each other.”

“I see.” Skye wasn’t sure why, but she sensed he was telling the truth. “Still, a car that looked a lot like yours almost ran me down last Sunday after church.”

“I went to the Feed Bag as soon as Mass ended.” The lights flashed indicating that the haunted house would be opening in five minutes, and Dylan jumped off the operating table. “I heard it was fifteen or twenty minutes later that you were nearly hit.” He stuck his video game in his pocket. “Feel free to check out my alibi with Nina and Burt Miles. They had breakfast with me.”

“Thanks, I will,” Skye muttered as she walked away.

After checking with Anthony, who was staying at the American Legion hall for the rest of the evening to keep an eye on the event, Skye hurried to her spot and got ready to scare the patrons.

Saturday’s A Ghoul’s Night Out went as smoothly as Friday’s had, and when the haunted house closed for the night, Skye drove to Wally’s place. He met her at the door and handed her a glass of wine.

Wally had redecorated a year ago, replacing the shag carpeting with hardwood floors. The walls were now painted a deep taupe, and a mushroom, cream, and rust–colored area rug occupied the center of the room. Arts and Crafts–style bookcases and tables took the place of the fake Early American ones that Skye had hated when she first saw his living room.

After they settled on the new cream leather sofa, Skye filled Wally in on her chat with Dylan Paine, concluding with, “I believe him about his and Annette’s relationship, and I don’t think he was involved in his wife’s death. I checked with Nina during one of my breaks, and she confirmed that Dr. Paine was with her and her husband at the restaurant at the time that the car nearly ran me down.”

“And, considering Gloria’s death last night, I believe Quirk.” Wally peeled the wrapper off his beer bottle. “I talked with him today, and he denies any involvement in Annette Paine’s death. He swears he just loses his temper whenever he sees Hope, but would never really hurt her. He was afraid you’d think less of him if you found out about his brother, which is why he didn’t want you on the case.”

“What did Zinnia Idell have to say?” Skye asked. “It would have been easy for her to sneak into my office and poison the cookies. She’s been around the school a lot the past month.”