Body Over Troubled Waters

by Denise Swanson

  Chuckling at the older woman’s shocked expression, Skye said, “I doubt anyone, except the other members of his club, knew about his tastes.”

  Wally cleared his throat. “Since it wasn’t pertinent to our previous case, we didn’t reveal his proclivities, and I trust as a member of our investigative team, you’ll keep it quiet as well.”

  “Absolutely,” Doris Ann assured him. “But I am glad you mentioned it because I will take that information into consideration when I do the autopsy. There may be marks that might have to do with his consensual actions that I would have chalked up to his struggle with whoever pushed him into the cupid.”

  “Good enough,” Wally answered. “I’ll be looking for your report, when?”

  “I’ll have my prelim done by the end of business today,” Doris Ann said, then added, “And I’ll see you two at the Valentine’s dance Saturday night. Bye!”

  Once the ME was gone, Wally turned to Skye, “Quirk should be back any minute. In the meantime, shall we go look at the scene?”

  “Sure.” Skye winced inwardly, hoping there wasn’t a lot of blood.

  “Are you sure?” Wally asked, then searched Skye’s face and added, “It’s not too bad, but if you’d rather not, you can wait here.”

  “I’m fine.” She fought to keep her expression neutral. “Let’s go.”

  “Okay.” Wally took Skye’s hand and they walked down the hall into the shadowy bedroom, and then up to a pair of louvered doors.

  As she followed Wally, Skye noted the furniture. French provincial wasn’t her taste, too ornate, but she could tell that what the Wraiges had was authentic and worth tens of thousands of dollars. Exactly how much money was the superintendent’s salary?

  Before Skye could ponder the question of Dr. Wraige’s wealth any further, Wally opened the louvered doors and she refocused. Studying the sitting room, she took in the cozy furniture arrangement by the fireplace, then scanned the rest of area.

  Off to one side, on a white marble pedestal, stood a bronze statue of a nude woman. Opposite her was a space that Skye assumed had held the sculpture of cupid that Wally had mentioned to Doris Ann.

  Moving closer to the empty spot, Skye almost stepped into an enormous pool of blood. She quickly averted her gaze and went around it.

  Obviously, that was where the superintendent had been lying as he bled to death. The techs would have taken a sample but hadn’t cleaned it up.

  Skye hoped his family wouldn’t have to see this. She reminded herself to tell them about the trauma and biohazard removal company that operated in their area. That business would also take care of the fingerprint powder and evidence-gathering chemicals that were left behind by the techs.

  Lost in thought, Skye jumped when Wally touched her arm and asked, “Is there anything you’ve observed that might be a clue of some kind?”

  Blinking, Skye tried to concentrate. She told herself this was sort of like the game she played with her counseling kids. What’s not like the rest of the items? Or what’s missing from the picture?

  Determined to be professional, Skye began a search of the room. Taking a closer look, she saw that there were three beverage rings on the table in front of the love seat. Shouldn’t there only be two?

  Pointing the number out to Wally, she asked, “What do you make of that?”

  Wally raise an eyebrow, then shrugged. “If we hadn’t found out during our previous investigation that Mrs. Wraige wasn’t a participant in her husband’s BDSM sex life, I’d guess maybe ménage à trois.”

  “I take it the crime scene techs took the cups and will be testing them for DNA and fingerprints?” Skye asked.

  “Yes, they mentioned bagging the mugs.” Wally gestured toward the table. “They also recovered a paper muffin cup they found on the floor under there. It was similar to the one on the kitchen counter, so I had them grab that one too.”

  “Hmm.” Skye tucked that info away.

  She moved over to peer at the tall narrow bookcase on the wall opposite the statues. The glass doors were open and it was empty.

  Wally stepped over to her and asked, “Do you see something?”

  “From the imprints in the dust, it seems that whatever was in this cabinet was recently removed.” Careful not to touch the surface of the glass doors, Skye pointed. “Look at the lock on the door.”

  “Okay.”

  “It doesn’t appear as if it’s been forced open.” Skye wrinkled her forehead. “You might want to have the crime scene techs determine if it’s been picked.”

  Wally scrutinized the shiny metal and shook his head. “I’ll have them examine it, but there are no scratches.”

  “Which would mean whoever opened those doors had a key.” Skye pursed her lips. “I wonder what was on those shelves. They remind me of a cabinet that my intern supervisor had in his office. It held his stamp collection.” She rubbed her chin as she thought about what she knew about the superintendent, then confirmed, “Dr. Wraige has had several break-ins, right? Maybe someone stole whatever was here.”

  “I suppose that’s possible,” Wally murmured. “The thefts have all been of small but valuable items, like a painting or jewelry.”

  “My supervisor had a stamp that was worth over twenty thousand dollars.”

  “Wow!” Wally whistled. “What was the average price of his stamps?”

  “Two or three hundred dollars.” Skye crossed her arms. “But to a collector, it’s not just the cash value, it’s the feeling of owning an object that few others possess.”

  “If the superintendent was the collector rather than his wife, taking his collection would be hitting him where it really hurts,” Wally mused.

  “Exactly. And if Dr. Wraige caught the thief in the act, he’d have tried to stop him, which could have been when the burglar pushed him into Cupid.”

  Chapter 9

  Blue Valentines

  Skye reached over and gave her husband’s hand a sympathetic squeeze. They were sitting in the Wraiges’ kitchen waiting for the sergeant to show up with the deceased’s wife and adult son. Skye was using her time to answer various texts and emails, but Wally had spent the past twenty minutes pacing the length of the room, then back again, only recently dropping into the chair next to hers.

  “I can’t imagine what’s taking Quirk so long,” Wally grumbled.

  “He’ll be here soon.” Skye had been at the crime scene a good hour already, and although she was as restless as Wally, she was better at hiding her impatience.

  “It’s not as if there’s that many places they could be in Scumble River.” Wally tapped his nails on the tabletop.

  “Maybe Mrs. Wraige or Tavish was out to lunch and Roy couldn’t find them,” Skye offered before returning to the message she was typing to Dorothy, thanking her for the recording of Eva clapping her hands together. She also added a message reassuring the housekeeper that CJ hadn’t meant to hit his twin when he tried to join her playing patty-cake. Once Skye finished with her text, she showed Wally the video and said, “Look at our daughter.”

  Wally gazed at the small screen and crooned, “What a cutie pie.” He watched the short clip, then jerked his head and asked, “Was that a car?”

  Thrusting Skye’s phone back into her hands, Wally strode out of the kitchen.

  She stuffed her cell in her pocket, then rose and followed him to the foyer. Roy’s cruiser was parked in the driveway and he was helping an attractive woman in her late thirties out of the passenger seat.

  As a man exited from the rear of the cruiser, Skye recognized him as the superintendent’s son. He had on an unbuttoned navy jacket over the same delft-blue suit he had worn at the meeting where he’d been introduced to the school staff the day before.

  Ignoring his stepmother, Tavish walked quickly toward the front door and shoved it open. It swung inward toward Skye and she had to jum
p out of the way to avoid being smacked in the face.

  “Watch it, buster!” Wally growled, snaking his arm around Skye’s waist and pulling her out of the man’s path. “Slow the heck down.”

  At Wally’s command, Tavish stopped and looked around, then seemed to realize who had spoken, and straightened as he said, “Sorry, sir.”

  Before Wally could respond, Roy and Mrs. Wraige entered the house.

  The woman marched up to Wally and demanded, “Why did you send for me? February through April are my busiest months. Shamus is perfectly able to handle reporting whatever has been stolen this time.”

  “Ma’am,” Wally said soothingly. “How about if we sit down and I’ll explain?”

  “I’d rather talk to my husband.” Mrs. Wraige tightened the belt of her fashionable winter-white trench coat. “After Sergeant Quirk insisted that I accompany him back here, I called Shamus’s cell, but he didn’t answer.”

  “Mrs. Wraige.” Skye glanced at Wally, and he nodded his permission. “I’m Skye Denison-Boyd.” She held out her hand. “I don’t believe we’ve met, but I’m the school district psychologist.”

  “Call me Nanette.” She automatically accepted Skye’s hand and shook it as she questioned, “Are you Loretta Steiner-Denison’s sister-in-law?”

  “Yes, I am.” Skye held on to the woman’s hand and guided her down the hallway toward the kitchen, then over her shoulder, she said to the men, “I really think it’s best if we all sit down before we talk.”

  Nanette frowned but allowed herself to be seated at the table. Tavish took the place opposite his stepmother while Wally and Skye sat in the two remaining chairs. Out of the corner of her eye, Skye noticed Roy heading toward the master suite. She figured that Wally had assigned him to keep the crime scene secured in the event either of the family members tried to enter it.

  “Did Loretta tell you that I’m also the police department’s psych consultant?” When Nanette nodded, Skye continued, “That’s why I’m here.”

  “Oh.” Nanette glanced at Wally, her pretty blue eyes narrowed. “Why would you need a psychologist for a break-in? You didn’t call her in for the previous ones.”

  “I promise to answer all your questions before we’re finished.” Wally took over the conversation. “But I need you to answer mine first.”

  Skye sat back, subtly indicating that Wally was now in charge.

  “What’s going on here, Chief?” Tavish spoke before his stepmother could reply.

  “Again, if you’ll both be patient, we’ll get through this a lot faster.”

  “Fine.” Nanette glared at her stepson, then smiled tightly at Wally. “Go ahead.”

  “What time did you two leave this morning?” Wally took out his memo pad.

  “I left at seven ten, sir.” Tavish squared his shoulders. “I report for duty at the high school at seven twenty, and it takes me ten minutes to drive there, park, and sign in at the office.”

  “And what time did you leave, ma’am?” Wally looked at Nanette.

  “About seven forty-five,” she answered. “My first client was scheduled for eight.”

  “Does your friend Colleen still live here?” Wally asked, and when Nanette nodded, he continued, “Did she also leave at that time?”

  “No. She left a little earlier,” Nanette explained. “She had an appointment in Chicago to discuss strategy with her divorce lawyer at eleven.” She glanced at Skye and explained, “Colleen’s husband is trying to get custody of their ten-year-old daughter, Rosemary, and Colleen’s fighting him.”

  “Does the girl live here?” Wally hadn’t seen any sign of a child.

  “No. Currently, Rosemary is with her maternal grandparents. The judge thought it best that she lives with them until everything is settled between her parents. That way she can continue going to the same school she’s always attended and Colleen and her soon-to-be ex can have supervised visits.”

  Supervised visits! Skye frowned. Something was fishy with that situation and she wondered what Nanette was leaving out of the story.

  “Why isn’t Colleen living with her parents too?” Wally asked, evidently on the same wavelength as Skye.

  Nanette fidgeted with a strand of raven-black hair that had come loose from her bun. “While Rosemary’s grandparents were happy to have their granddaughter live with them, they don’t approve of Colleen and refused to let her stay there.”

  “Why don’t they approve of her?” Wally probed.

  Nanette seemed to realize she was saying too much. “I don’t believe that’s any of your business.”

  At this point, Skye could see from Wally’s expression that he wanted to press Nanette for more information, but he knew he didn’t have a good enough reason to do so without revealing the superintendent’s murder.

  “Okay,” he conceded, then asked, “But why did Colleen leave so early for an eleven o’clock appointment?”

  “She thought it might take longer than usual because of rush hour traffic and construction on I-55. She figured if she was early, she’d do some shopping. I expect her back late this afternoon.”

  “I see. How about your husband?” Wally asked. “Did he leave when you did?”

  “Shamus wasn’t going into his office until ten today,” Nanette explained. “The board meeting went late last night and he didn’t get home until midnight, so he’d only been awake for a short while when I left. Just enough time for us to have a cup of coffee together.” She paused and frowned. “Haven’t you talked to him? Who reported the break-in?”

  “Just a few more questions and I’ll clear up everything,” Wally soothed. “What was in the locked cabinet in your sitting room?”

  Tavish answered before his stepmother could speak. “My father kept his coin collection there. Those shelves were full of his albums. Was that what was stolen?”

  “The cabinet is empty,” Wally answered. “Who has the key to it?”

  “Shamus keeps it in his office.” Nanette shrugged. “But it’s pretty flimsy and I’ve seen him pop it open with a paper clip a few times when he’s forgotten to bring the key home with him.”

  “Is there any chance Dr. Wraige moved those albums somewhere else?”

  “They were there this morning,” Nanette answered. “I would have noticed if they were missing.”

  “Do you have a list of the coins?” Wally asked.

  “No.” Nanette stood, shrugged out of her coat, arranged it on the back of her chair, then resumed her seat. “Shamus keeps a record on his laptop.”

  “We’ll need a copy of that list.” Wally jotted down a note, then added, “Once we’re through here, would you be able to get it for us?”

  “You’ll have to ask my father for the inventory.” Tavish’s hands had been resting loosely on the table, but now he clasped them together.

  Skye, wondering what about that statement made him uncomfortable, asked in a mild tone of voice, “Is that because the computer is password protected or because it’s not here in the house?”

  “Both.” Tavish’s knuckles whitened. “He keeps it in his office. Since the break-ins, he’s been keeping more and more of his personal belongings there.”

  “You can call him at work and ask him to bring a list when he comes home,” Nanette offered, then her forehead wrinkled and she added, “Or did you say you tried him there and couldn’t reach him?”

  Ignoring her question, Wally turned to Tavish and asked, “Once you were at the school, did you leave the building again before Sergeant Quirk picked you up?”

  “No, I had several residential discrepancies to follow up on and paperwork to complete,” Tavish answered, then frowned. “Why do you ask?”

  Just as he had ignored Nanette’s question, Wally ignored her stepson’s and asked, “Was anyone with you while you were doing that?”

  “No. I’m currently using a
desk in the basement and only the custodian comes down there,” Tavish explained, then narrowed his eyes. “Do you suspect me of stealing my father’s coin collection?”

  “How long were you with your client, Mrs. Wraige?” Wally turned away from Tavish and focused his attention on Nanette, who Skye noted was nervously tapping her wedding ring on the tabletop.

  “Uh.” Nanette looked up as if she’d forgotten she wasn’t alone. “Oh. She never showed up.”

  “Do you have any employees?” Skye asked.

  “Just a part-time tax preparer, but she’s home with the flu.”

  “Then you were alone all morning?” Wally asked.

  Nanette’s olive skin paled, and she swallowed. “This isn’t about another burglary. Something bad has happened to Shamus, hasn’t it?”

  Wally and Skye exchanged looks. Neither family member had an alibi, and they weren’t going to get much more information out of them. Wally gave Skye a slight nod. It was time for her to deliver the bad news.

  “I’m afraid so.” Skye took Nanette’s hand, then gently explained, “The superintendent called the mayor to say he’d heard someone trying to get in, but that he had scared them away. As soon as Dante informed the police, Wally headed over here. When he arrived, your husband didn’t answer the door or his phone. Wally investigated and discovered the sliding door was unlocked. He went inside to do a wellness check, and he found Dr. Wraige dead.”

  Tavish leaped to his feet. “What happened? Was it his heart?” Without waiting for an answer, he ran out of the kitchen.

  Wally followed him and Skye heard Roy order, “Stop. Stay right there.”

  Interesting. It appeared that Tavish had headed right for the master suite, and Skye hadn’t mentioned where Wally had found Dr. Wraige.

  Of course, the superintendent’s son had seen the living room–dining room from the foyer and been in the kitchen, so the only other places would have been Tavish’s room or the guest room.