“Why would the killer start the machine?” Simon asked.
“Good point.” Skye chewed her lip. “Barbie must have started the machine and then she was killed soon afterward. The Addisons had to be alive before ten o’clock because I got there about ten-thirty and it took me less than five minutes to discover the bodies.”
“So, who doesn’t have an alibi from, say, nine-forty-five to ten-thirty?”
“Lu Ginardi. She’s the only one of the women who were indebted to Barbie because of the Instant Gourmet scheme and can’t account for her time during that forty-five minutes.”
Simon paced the length of the great room and back. “There’s still no hard evidence against her. Yes, she was into Barbie for a great deal of money, and she’s the only one of the women without an alibi, but—”
“You’re right. There’s only one thing to do. Get her to confess.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Well, we can’t let her get away with it, and as you pointed out, there’s no real proof. So, we have to get a confession.”
“How do you plan to do that?” Simon’s expression was skeptical.
“Lu is impulsive, has an extremely short fuse, and she really, really dislikes me. If I prod her enough, she’ll blurt it out.”
“Or attack you,” Simon snapped. “She may be the one who’s been following you.”
“Yes. I bet she is.” Skye thought for a minute. “Okay. I’ll call Wally and tell him what we’ve figured out, and see if he’s willing to bring her in to the police station for questioning.”
“You think she’ll say something in front of Wally?”
“Of course not. But what if he steps out of the room and I step in?” Skye explained. “I’ll make sure the door isn’t closed all the way, and Wally can eavesdrop.”
“Is that legal?”
“They let cell mates in prison elicit confessions and testify against each other,” Skye pointed out. “I think as long as she doesn’t ask for a lawyer, it’s okay.”
“Then you’d better call Wally right now.” Simon checked his watch. “It’s nearly one o’clock. If he can pick her up immediately, Bob won’t be home and insist on going with her to the station as her lawyer.”
“How do you know that?”
“There’s a GUMB meeting that starts at one. They’re voting for Imperial Brahma Bull. Bob will probably be tied up until at least three o’clock.”
Skye raised an eyebrow. “I’m surprised you aren’t attending.”
“I’m thinking of dropping out of the GUMBs. It hasn’t turned out to be exactly what I expected.”
“Won’t Lu be there to support her husband?”
“Women are prohibited from attending an election.” Simon’s expression was a bit sheepish. “Another reason I’ve been thinking of quitting. The GUMBs are a lot more chauvinistic than I was led to believe.”
“Glad you realized that, because I plan to resign from the Bettes Monday morning.” Skye headed for the phone. “I hope Wally’s available.”
Wally agreed to Skye’s plan. He would pick up Lu and meet Skye and Simon at the police station in half an hour.
Wally was already in the interrogation room with Lu when Skye and Simon arrived at the police station.
After nearly half an hour Wally walked into his office where Skye and Simon had been waiting. He plopped into his desk chair and said, “That’s one tough woman. She won’t budge. Insists she’s innocent.”
“Let’s see if I can rattle her a little.” Skye left the office, trailed by the two men.
Lu frowned when Skye entered the interrogation room. “What are you doing here?”
Good question. Skye hadn’t thought of how to start things off. She improvised. “You know my mom’s the police dispatcher, right?”
Lu nodded, a confused look on her face.
“Well, I was here visiting her, and I saw Wally bring you in. Then when he stepped away a few minutes ago, I realized this was a good time to talk to you.” Skye paused for dramatic effect. “About Barbie’s Instant Gourmet business.”
Lu stiffened. “What about it?”
Skye pulled out a chair, noting as she had Friday at the mall that Lu’s polished looks had lost their shine. Her blond hair hung limply, and strands of gray were evident. Her skin seemed dull, and a baggy jogging suit hung on her tall, sinewy frame. Skye watched Lu squirm for a few minutes, then said, “I know about the Instant Gourmet contract you signed with Barbie.”
The woman glared. “So?”
“She really duped you, didn’t she?”
“I knew what I was doing.”
Skye caught a glimpse of Wally by the slightly open door. It was time to stir things up before Lu noticed him, too. Skye leaned across the table. “Hardly. That contract was so onesided it was insulting, and your husband’s a lawyer, too. How stupid could you be?”
“It’s finally out in the open, isn’t it, Miss Honor Roll Straight-A Student?” Lu rocketed upright. “I knew from the first day I met you in high school that you thought I was dumb. But who married the star football player and lives in the big house, and who’s an old maid?”
Skye was shocked. Lu had hated her all these years because she got good grades in high school? Well, she couldn’t think about that now. Lu was close to blowing up, and it was time for Skye to light her fuse.
“Admit it. Barbie took advantage of you. She must have thought you were a real idiot to sign that contract. So you slept with her husband for revenge, but that wasn’t enough. You killed her because she betrayed you.”
Lu’s head snapped up. “Why would you say that?”
“Because you owed her the most money. You were supposed to be her best friend. And you’re the one without an alibi.”
Suddenly Lu let out a loud peal of laughter, and flopped back down in her chair. “Miss Smarty-Pants is finally wrong. You and your high IQ added up two and two and got five.”
Could that be true? If Lu wasn’t the murderer, then who was? No, she had to be the killer. Skye decided to push a little harder. “Like I’d believe what you had to say. You’ve hounded me since I was a freshman. And now I find out the only thing you had against me was that I got better grades than you.”
“Believe what you want.” Lu picked at a ragged nail.
Skye frowned. Lu seemed relieved, as if being accused of murder wasn’t the thing she dreaded hearing from Skye. What was she afraid Skye knew? But if Lu wasn’t the killer, then who was? Shoot. They were back at square one.
Lu stared off into space, and Skye could think of nothing else to say. It was time to leave.
Simon and Wally joined her in the hall. Skye said, “Did you hear?” The men nodded. “I couldn’t budge her.”
“Do you still think she’s the killer?” Wally asked.
“I’m not sure anymore.” Skye shrugged. “But who else could it be? The other women have alibis.” Silently, she examined her previous reasoning for flàws. The washing machine clicked off five minutes after I got to the Addisons, which means twenty-five minutes earlier they had to be alive. No flaws there. If Barbie was the intended victim, it had to be due to her Instant Gourmet racket. So what am I missing? Unless Ken really was the prime target after all.
CHAPTER 23
If at first you don’t succeed,
Try, try, try again.
—W. E. Hickson
Ms. Denison, phone call, line two.” The elementary school’s PA announcement startled Skye into spilling a can of diet Coke over the papers she had spread on her desk.
After brooding all Sunday night about the fiasco with Lu Ginardi, Skye had somehow managed to sleep through her alarm Monday morning, thus starting one of those days where the smart move would have been to crawl back under the covers and wait for the next sunrise. Now, at two-fifty-nine, with school letting out at three o’clock, a phone call could not mean good news.
As she hurried down the hall to the main office, visions of angry parents, irate superi
ntendents, and litigious lawyers danced in her head.
Skye lifted the receiver and identified herself.
“Skye, honey, this is Bunny. I’m so relieved I found you.”
Skye stifled a groan and forced a pleasant tone. “Hi, Bunny. What’s the problem?”
“I had a gentleman caller this afternoon that I thought you should know about.”
“Who came to see you?” And why did Bunny want to share this information with Skye?
“Bob Ginardi.”
Uh-oh. “What did he want?” Had he figured out that Skye and Simon were behind Lu’s being questioned by Wally yesterday? Was he using Bunny in his retaliation?
“Well, when I first got to town, I contacted him about my little problem with the law. I had, ah, gotten rid of some papers about my court supervision and then I found out I needed them, so I asked him if he could help me.”
“And did he?” Skye pulled up a chair and sat down. This was obviously going to be a long conversation.
“I didn’t have enough money for his fee—so, no. But today when he stopped by, he suggested something I could trade for his help.” Bunny paused dramatically, then stage-whispered, “He wanted me to pump you for information and report back to him.”
“What? Why?”
“He’s apprehensive that you’ve ascertained some unsavory information about the GUMBs, and since he was elected Imperial Brahma Bull yesterday, he wants me to find out exactly what you know.” It was clear from the terminology she was using that Bunny was quoting Ginardi word for word.
Skye was surprised to hear that Ginardi had beat Charlie out of becoming the grand pooh-bah, but she refocused on what Bunny was saying. “I see. And did you agree?”
“I told him that I’d think about it and get back to him. That’s why I called you to see what you wanted me to do.”
Skye twisted the phone cord around her finger. What was Ginardi up to? “Listen, Bunny, I’ll go over and clear this up with him as soon as I finish up a couple of things here at school. You stay away from him.”
“Sure. I figured that’s what you’d want to do.” Bunny paused again. “Ah, say, ah, let me know what happens, okay?”
“I’ll do that,” Skye promised, then added, “I have a friend who’s an attorney. I’ll ask her to call you and see about getting copies of those papers you need. Her name is Loretta Steiner.”
“Gee. Thanks. That’s really sweet of you.”
“Thanks for letting me know about Ginardi. Take care. Bye.”
It was close to four when Skye parked in front of Ginardi’s law office. She’d had to attend a last-minute meeting at school and then decided she’d better call Loretta about Bunny’s legal problems before she forgot. As she closed her car door, she spotted Simon sitting in his Lexus two spaces over. He saw her at about the same time and got out of his car. They met on the sidewalk in front of the building.
“What are you doing here?” Skye asked.
“I was out of the office for a while, and when I got back there was a message from Bunny on my machine telling me about Ginardi’s visit to her and your plan to speak to him this afternoon.” Simon opened the front door and gestured for Skye to go inside. “I didn’t think you should talk to him alone.”
“You’re probably right. It’s always good to have a witness when you have a discussion with a lawyer other than your own.” Skye looked around the small waiting room. It was empty; even the secretary’s chair was vacant. “Maybe he’s not here.”
Simon walked over to the closed office door and knocked.
A voice yelled, “Come in.” Ginardi was sitting at his desk. He looked from Skye to Simon and said, “What a surprise. Come in. Have a seat. Did you two come by to draw up a prenuptial agreement?”
“No,” Skye answered. “I understand you’re concerned about what I might have figured out about the GUMBs.”
“Well, since I’m now Imperial Brahma Bull, it is my duty…”
While Ginardi was speaking, Skye noticed a silver and white snowsuit hanging from the back of the coat tree in the corner. She swallowed a gasp as the answer to everything hit her dead-on. Now she knew where she had gone wrong in her previous attempt to figure out who had committed the murders.
Bob Ginardi was the “alien” Justin had spotted at the Kesslers’ the night of the sex party. He must have been wearing the snowsuit and a pair of oval snowshoes when he was following her through the cemetery.
She had been so stupid. Why hadn’t she noticed that the Ginardis weren’t among the partyers? Ginardi’s son had been the one Justin overheard talking about the party. The Ginardis should have been there.
And if Bob Ginardi was the one following her that night… Damn! She had checked the alibis for the women Barbie was bleeding dry, but not the women’s husbands. They would have had as much motive as their wives. She had overlooked the obvious, and now she and Simon were sitting in a deserted building with the murderer.
Skye nodded as Ginardi finally finished his speech about protecting the GUMB reputation. “I completely agree with you,” Skye said. “That’s why I came by, to reassure you that I would keep that information completely confidential.” She stood and tugged Simon to his feet, pulling him toward the door. “We have to go now.”
“No need to rush off.” Ginardi smiled. “How about a drink to celebrate my victory?”
Something in Skye’s expression must have tipped him off that she had figured out he was the killer because she could see a sudden dawning of understanding on his face. In the blink of an eye he turned from genial host to stone-cold killer.
When he reached into his desk drawer, Skye looked at Simon. He had caught the transformation, too, and was shoving her out into the reception area and toward the outside. But they were too slow. Ginardi caught up with them before they got to the door.
He pointed a gun at Skye. “I see our town sleuth has finally fumbled her way into figuring things out.”
Skye tried playing dumb. After her misjudgment of Lu yesterday, it wasn’t much of a stretch of her acting abilities. “I told you I wouldn’t say anything about the GUMBs.”
“No. You won’t.” He gestured toward a storage cabinet located behind the secretary’s desk. “Both of you get over there.” Once they had complied, he followed and reached inside. “Here.” He handed Skye a roll of duct tape and pointed at Simon. “Tape his hands behind his back and put a piece over his mouth.”
Skye looked at Simon, who nodded slightly. After she had finished, Ginardi checked her work, adding a couple of extra loops to tighten the tape. “Now, we’re all going for a ride.”
He grabbed Skye by the arm, pushing the gun into her side and dragging her outside toward the Lincoln Navigator parked at the curb. “Skye, you get to drive. Simon, sorry, you’ll have to ride in back. And if you try anything, your snoopy girlfriend gets a bullet in the head.”
They all climbed inside. Skye desperately searched the street for someone to help them, but there was no one in sight.
Ginardi prodded her with the gun. “Drive east, as if you were going to Kankakee.”
She slowly backed the massive vehicle onto the street and started down the road.
When they were out of the city limits, Ginardi said, “I thought you were really off course when you went and spied on the Kesslers’ little orgy.”
“I guess I was,” Skye acknowledged. “So why did you ask Bunny to get information from me?”
“I got worried when you went over to the Addisons’ house Saturday. It was quite an unpleasant surprise to find Chief Boyd there, too.” Ginardi frowned, as if just remembering something. “What did you find there?”
“Nothing.” Skye pasted a disappointed expression on her face. “It was a big waste of time. The chief was really annoyed at me.” Wanting to get his mind off that topic, she said, “What I don’t understand is why you asked me to investigate.”
“I didn’t. Tony Zello did. He was hellbent on you finding the murderer and saving the clu
b’s reputation. He would have thought it strange if I didn’t go along with him.”
“Oh.” Come to think of it, Tony had been the more insistent of the two. Skye bit her lip. She had really missed a lot of clues, like Lu’s reaction at the police station yesterday. Lu must have known her husband was the killer, and that’s why she was relieved when Skye accused her rather than Bob.
“Turn left here,” Bob Ginardi ordered.
Skye glanced at die side mirror before stomping on the brakes and cranking the steering wheel. She swung the huge SUV onto me gravel road he had indicated. Had the truck behind them seemed familiar? Probably just wishful thinking, but just in case, she’d make sure Ginardi didn’t notice. “For a fifty-thousand dollar vehicle, this Navigator drives worse than my dad’s old pickup.”
Ginardi’s eyes narrowed slightly, but then he smiled. “You should watch that smart mouth.” He patted a rifle case next to him. “It’ll get you into trouble someday.”
Skye wouldn’t play his game. She wanted to rile him up, keep his eyes off the road behind them and on her. “Your ridiculous little opinion has been noted.”
“Is that the best you can do? You’re not very good at inflicting pain, are. you?” Ginardi reached over and slapped her with such force that her head snapped back. “I, on the other hand, in my practice as an attorney, have made an art of it.”
The SUV swerved, but she wrestled it back into the right lane. Skye looked in the rearview mirror. Simon was struggling wildly to free his hands, and the truck she thought she had seen had disappeared.
She ignored the throbbing in her head and forced her voice to sound undisturbed as she asked, “Is that why you killed the Addisons, because you enjoy causing pain?”
Ginardi ignored her comment and pointed to a dirt path. “Take a right here.”
“Where’re we going?” They had been driving for nearly an hour, mostly down gravel and dirt roads. She knew they had originally headed south out of Scumble River, but after the first couple of turns, she had become completely lost.
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