Murder of a Creped Suzette

by Denise Swanson

  “Well . . .” He put the leftover salad in a Tupperware bowl before placing it in the refrigerator. “The only thing we know for sure is he’s not with Suzette.”

  “Unless . . .” Skye squirted soap under the running water and watched the bubbles foam. “The body isn’t Suzette’s and they ran away together.”

  “I suppose anything’s possible.” Wally selected a dish towel from the drawer. “But then, who was under the steamroller?” He dried a plate and placed it in the cupboard. “No one else is missing.”

  “True.” Skye washed a handful of silverware. “Besides, I can’t really see Owen doing something that wild. Heck—I can’t picture him having an affair.”

  “Sometimes the quiet ones fool you.” Wally finished putting away the dishes.

  “Yes, they do. They do, indeed.” Skye turned to stare at Wally. “So, what were you trying to tell me when Trixie arrived?”

  “Let’s sit down.” Wally led her to the kitchen table and pulled out two chairs. He cleared his throat before saying, “Darleen contacted me yesterday just before I left for Laurel to testify in court.”

  “That would be good news.” Skye smiled hopefully. “Wouldn’t it?”

  “That depends.” Wally wrinkled his brow. “She said I owe her for all the money I should have paid her when we got divorced.”

  “Oh?” Skye remembered Wally saying his ex-wife hadn’t received a penny from the divorce due to the airtight prenuptial agreement she had signed.

  “She claimed that now that she has some powerful friends she’s going to get what she deserves from me.”

  “And?”

  “And if I want her cooperation in writing a truthful letter to support my request for an annulment, I need to bring her two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.”

  “To Alaska?”

  “No.” Wally shook his head. “To Chicago. She’s back in Illinois.”

  CHAPTER 14

  “Please Remember Me”

  “Did you agree to give her the cash?” Skye asked Wally, studying him carefully.

  “No. I was in a hurry and I told her I had to think about it.” Wally took Skye’s hands and kissed both palms. “Do you want me to?”

  “I’m not sure what I want.” Her first instinct was that Wally shouldn’t give in to Darleen’s blackmail. While Skye was considering how she felt about the matter, she remembered last night’s call. “Oh, my God!”

  “What?”

  “Someone phoned me last night and left a message for you. He said, ‘Tell your boyfriend what he wants is expensive.’ ” Skye leaped up, ran to the counter, and grabbed the notepad where she’d jotted down the information. “Here’s the number he left.”

  “You said ‘he’—so it wasn’t Darleen?” Wally tore off the page and examined it, then tucked it into his breast pocket.

  “I’m not sure.” Skye pursed her lips. “It almost sounded like a robot.”

  “You can get a gadget from Radio Shack that will disguise your voice.” Wally narrowed his eyes. “Maybe Darleen’s trying to up the ante by involving you.”

  “Do you think she’s telling the truth about her ‘powerful’ friends?” Skye asked, part of her not believing Darleen, whom she was convinced was mentally unstable, but another part of her worried that getting mixed up with the wrong kind of people was exactly what Wally’s ex would do.

  “Hard to tell.” Wally patted his pocket. “I’ll see if I can have this number traced tomorrow, but odds are it belongs to a disposable cell.”

  “I guess we really have no choice but to wait and take it from there.”

  “Even if Darleen is telling the truth—which is a big if—and she does have some tough guy backing her up, he’s most likely just egging her on,” Wally reassured Skye.

  “True.” Skye bit her lip. “Maybe he thinks getting money from the rich ex will be easy. I wonder if Darleen mentioned you were the chief of police.”

  “That is the sort of detail she’d leave out.” Wally squeezed Skye’s hand. “That, and the fact that although my father is rich, I’m not.”

  “So where does Darleen think you’ll get the cash?”

  “The amount she’s asking for just happens to be the exact sum my mother left me.” Wally’s smile was rueful. “Darleen was always ticked that only my name was on that account, and she couldn’t get her hands on any of it without my permission.”

  “Which, of course, you didn’t give her.”

  “No.” Wally shook his head. “We were already not getting along and I didn’t think letting her blow my inheritance would strengthen our marriage.”

  “True,” Skye agreed. “Well, we can’t do anything about Darleen until you try to trace that phone number.”

  “Right.”

  “So, what’s our next step in investigating Suzette’s murder?”

  “I’ll talk to Owen first thing in the morning.” Wally pulled the pad of paper closer and made a note. “And since we have no other leads, I’ll have my officers tear apart the storage area in the basement and find the file on Suzette’s mother’s death.”

  “Shall I talk to the music teacher about Suzette’s father ?” Skye asked.

  “Definitely.”

  “Anything else you can think of that I should do?” Skye asked.

  Wally rose from his chair, pulling Skye along with him and into his arms. “I can think of one or two things.” He leaned down and pressed his lips to her ear. “Let’s see if your ghost will let us try them.”

  Mrs. Griggs’s spirit must have been out on an otherworldly errand, because for the first time ever Wally and Skye were able to enjoy a pleasurable night in her antique four-poster bed without any household disaster occurring.

  By six a.m. Skye had already dropped off Wally at his place so he could change clothes before going to talk to Owen, and had driven to Doggy Daycare. The pale purple building with black paw prints stenciled across the entrance was easy to spot. In the center of the lawn, a six-foot-tall pink fire hydrant topped off by an equally large sparkly tiara acted as a beacon to passersby. And lest someone fail to get the message, there was also a baby blue water bowl the size of a kiddie pool and a bone big enough to have come from a T. rex’s thigh.

  Skye clicked Toby’s leash to his collar and led him up the front steps. When she pushed open the glass door, chimes played “How Much Is That Doggy in the Window?”

  A thirtyish brunette wearing a lavender T-shirt with the Doggy Daycare logo embroidered across her chest greeted them from behind a rose marble counter. “Welcome to your darling’s home away from home. My name is Puppy Pointer.”

  “Poppy?” Skye was sure she couldn’t have heard correctly.

  “No, Puppy. P-U-P-P-Y.” The woman enunciated each letter carefully.

  “What a cute nickname.” As a school psychologist, Skye had heard a lot of unusual, astonishing, and sometimes downright bizarre monikers, but, surely, Puppy was not on this woman’s birth certificate.

  “It’s my legal name.” Puppy raised a bushy eyebrow, daring Skye to comment further. “Now, which of our wonderful services can I offer you today?”

  “Uh.” Skye was stunned by the opulence and variety of merchandise on display, not to mention the set of white pointy ears that seemed to emerge directly from the top of Puppy’s head.

  “I bet your precious pet is here for a spa day.” Puppy’s tone was perky.

  “No. Sorry.” Skye gave an apologetic little cough, wondering what a spa day for a canine consisted of, let alone cost. “I just need to board him until four thirty.”

  Puppy studied Toby. “At least let us give him a cut and style.”

  “No, thanks.” Skye dug her wallet from her tote bag. “How much for the day?”

  “I’m afraid we need to fill out some paperwork before we know what the charge will be.” Puppy held out a rhinestone-encrusted clipboard.

  “Fine.” Skye glanced at the questionnaire. Beyond the first few lines, which requested her name, address, and pho
ne number, there was little she could fill in. “Um, I’ve only had Toby for a couple of days, so I don’t know his mother’s name or any of the rest of this stuff.”

  “Unfortunately, we can’t take him without that information.”

  “Couldn’t you make an exception?” Skye pleaded. “Just for today?”

  “Well . . .” Puppy eyed Skye thoughtfully. “Perhaps.”

  “I’d really appreciate it.” Skye held her breath. What would she do if Toby didn’t qualify for Doggy Daycare? “How can we make it happen?”

  “Because we don’t have proof of his immunizations, we’ll have to keep him separated from our other guests, so we’ll have to charge you an additional fifty dollars beyond our normal daily fee.”

  “Fifty more?” Skye squeaked. “That seems like an awful lot to feed him and take him out a few times. How much is your regular price?”

  “Forty-eight dollars.” Sharp little canines showed as Puppy smiled.

  “So ninety-eight total?” Hell’s bells! At the rate she was hemorrhaging money, Skye wasn’t sure she could pay her bills this month.

  “And there’s a nonoptional eighteen percent gratuity.” If Puppy had a tail, it would have been wagging. “The total bill is payable in advance.”

  “That’s highway robbery!” Skye’s face turned red and she badly wanted to slap those cute little ears right off Puppy’s head.

  “It’s not my fault you don’t know your own dog’s history.” Puppy shrugged. “Without the completed forms, Toby’s care will be a lot more work for me.” She curled her lip. “Take it or leave it.”

  Skye wished she could walk out, but what would she do with Toby? Her only option would be to call in sick, and she couldn’t do that. Too many meetings would have to be canceled and rescheduled.

  Vowing that she would find another solution by tomorrow, Skye asked weakly, “Do you take credit cards?”

  “Of course.” Puppy straightened her faux ears. “But the extra fee is cash only.”

  Skye’s shoulders slumped and she reluctantly placed her credit card, a twenty, two tens, a five, and four singles into Puppy’s outstretched paw.

  “You owe me another dollar.”

  Skye sighed and dug through the change at the bottom of her purse, coming up with two quarters, four dimes, a nickel, and five pennies.

  Puppy handed her a receipt and said, “I hope you don’t mind me saying so, but you look really frazzled. You should do what I do when I’m feeling tense.”

  “What?” Skye asked before she could stop herself.

  “I handle stressful situations like our canine friends do.” Puppy’s expression was serious. “If you can’t eat it or hump it, pee on it and walk away.”

  After politely agreeing that Puppy’s stress relief idea had merit, Skye said good-bye to Toby and hurried out of the building. It was now seven o’clock, and since all she had left in her wallet was a coupon good for twenty-five cents off a bottle of salad dressing, she had to hit the ATM before going to school.

  There were only two ATMs in Scumble River, and one was, thank goodness, on Skye’s way to work. She parked in front of the Scumble River Savings and Loan and hurried into the foyer. The bank’s interior was dark, but the area containing the ATM was brightly lit.

  Skye rushed up to the machine, her debit card at the ready. She punched in her PIN number, then hesitated. How much cash should she take out?

  At the pace she was spending money, she should probably get the limit—five hundred dollars—but she decided to be cautious and take only half of the maximum allowed. Her purse would probably be secure in her desk drawer, but better safe than sorry.

  She waited impatiently for the bills to come out of the slot, then tucked the cash inside her tote bag and grabbed the receipt. Whirling around, she bit back a scream.

  “I guess you didn’t hear me come in.” Simon Reid stood a few feet away from her, a charming smile on his handsome face. “Maybe they should install chimes over the door.”

  Skye nodded in agreement, waiting for her heart to return to its normal rhythm before trying out her voice. Simon had always been able to sneak up on her. If she didn’t know better, she’d swear he floated above the ground instead of walking like a normal person.

  “Sorry I scared you.” Every strand of Simon’s short auburn hair was in place, his cheeks were freshly shaved, and his black wingtip shoes were so perfectly polished he could use them to check that his tie was straight.

  Instantly, Skye became conscious of her own rumpled appearance. She tugged at the empire waist of her plum-colored knit dress and brushed white dog hair from its elbow-length bell sleeves.

  “Are you on your way to school?” Simon’s finely sculpted features hinted at an elegance and sophistication that were rare in Scumble River.

  “Yes.” Skye glanced down at her black tights. The buckle on Toby’s collar had caught in them, so there was a huge run that started from the top of her ballet flats and disappeared under the hem of her skirt. She’d planned to change into the emergency panty hose she kept in her desk drawer as soon as she got to school.

  “I’m glad I ran into you.” Simon’s warm tenor washed over her. “I wanted to talk to you.”

  “In your role as coroner?” Skye stopped fussing with her clothes and met his gaze. “Is there some evidence about the murder you want to share?”

  “No.” Simon’s hazel eyes were hooded. “I’m sure Boyd has filled you in on those facts.” He paused. “Although I do have a question about Suzette.”

  “What?”

  “When you first met her, did she look familiar to you?” Simon wrinkled his brow. “When I saw her perform last Saturday night, she reminded me of someone, but I just couldn’t put my finger on who.”

  “Not really.” Skye tried to remember if she had thought Suzette looked like anyone. “Her parents only lived here a year, and that was back in 1978.”

  “Then there’s no way I could have known her mother or father. I would only have been eight years old at the time, and I didn’t move to town until 1998, when I inherited the funeral home from my uncle.” Simon massaged one temple. “Does she have any relatives in Scumble River?”

  “No. As far as I know, the police haven’t been able to locate any family.”

  “I see.” Simon shrugged. “I guess she just had that kind of face.”

  “That could be it.”

  “Back to the reason I was glad to run into you,” Simon said. “I hear you have a houseguest who needs alternative accommodations.”

  “Who told you that?”

  “Trixie mentioned it to Frannie yesterday afternoon at the drugstore. Then Frannie told Mom when she got to work last night.” Frannie was a waitress at the bowling alley that Simon owned and his mother, Bunny, managed.

  “I should have known. There are no secrets around here.” Skye twisted a strand of the gold chain that hung past her scoop neckline. “I suppose Bunny told you the whole story.”

  “About Homer and the shoe baptism? Yes, she did.” Simon chuckled. “That must have been quite a sight.”

  “Yes.” Skye giggled. “I’ve never seen Homer so upset, and that’s saying a lot.”

  “Anyway, if you still need someone to take care of the dog, I’d be glad to do it.”

  “Why?” Skye asked, wondering if this was another of Simon’s schemes to win back her affections.

  “I’ve been thinking of getting a pet.” He examined the crease in the pants of his olive green wool suit. “And this would be a good way to see if a dog is right for me. A bit like being a foster parent.”

  “Well . . .” Skye was suddenly reluctant to give up Toby. “I’m not sure—”

  “How about I take him during the day while you’re at work,” Simon suggested. “You can pick him up on your way home after school, and if you need me to take care of him longer, just give me a call.”

  “You’d have to keep him with you,” Skye warned. “Believe me, you do not want him bored and alone i
n your house, or anywhere else.”

  “So I heard.” Simon grinned. “Actually, that works out perfectly for me, since most wakes are held in the late afternoon or evening.”

  “How about interments or when you have to consult with the bereaved?” Skye was still not sure this was a good plan. She didn’t want to owe Simon a favor.

  “I’ll set up one of the empty rooms for him at the funeral home with a bed and some toys.” He stuck his hands in his pockets. “Xavier can help.”

  “I’m so glad you talked Xavier into coming back to work for you after he quit last month.”

  “Me, too.” Simon shuffled his feet. “So, what do you say? Will you trust me with the little guy?”

  “Yes.” Skye realized she really couldn’t afford to turn down his offer. “He’s already set for today, but I’ll bring him over to your place between seven and seven fifteen tomorrow.”

  “Thank you.” Simon stepped close to Skye and softly kissed her cheek. “I’m looking forward to the companionship.”

  “Toby can definitely provide that.” Skye tried to lighten the mood.

  “That’s good.” Simon’s expression was pensive. “Now that we’re not together, it seems I no longer like my own company as much as I used to.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that.” Skye kept the sympathy out of her voice, not wanting to mislead him about her feelings.

  “Thank you.” Simon grimaced. “It’s just that I never thought of myself as a person who’d ever be lonely.”

  CHAPTER 15

  “A Boy Named Sue”

  Half an hour later, Skye sat on an uncomfortable molded-plastic chair in an overheated office, still wearing her ruined tights. She had intended to drop off Homer’s new shoes with the school secretary and escape without having to deal with the principal, but Homer had pounced on her as soon as she entered the building.

  While the principal propelled her through the lobby, past the front counter, and into his inner sanctum, he grumbled about a new student who was moving into their district. Woodrow Buckingham was being enrolled that morning and his parents were arriving in ten minutes to brief them on their child’s needs.