Come Homicide or High Water

by Denise Swanson

  “Is Jenna okay?” Skye didn’t like how the girl seemed more deeply asleep than normal.

  “My daughter’s fine.” Krissy’s gaze flicked toward the girl hanging over her shoulder. “Jenna’s just taking a Benadryl nap. When Beilin went inside to get her for the tea party, I slipped a few of the crushed pills into her milk.”

  Before she could stop herself, Skye warned, “Diphenhydramine can impair motor skills, judgment, and memory in children for up to three days. She may be woozy and uncoordinated when she wakes up. Make sure she drinks lots of water.”

  “Shut up!” Krissy screamed. “You sound like that bitch from social services who took Jenna’s brother from me after my husband died. I’m a good mother.”

  “Sorry,” Skye said quickly. As unlikely as it seemed, in her job as a school psychologist, she’d actually had conversations like this before. Although they hadn’t occurred at gunpoint, at least she was prepared to handle the woman’s hostility. “I certainly never meant to question your parenting skills.”

  Krissy ignored Skye’s words and whined, “Then that social services cow talked me into signing the adoption papers by telling me that when I wasn’t in my right mind I might hurt him. I haven’t been able to find him yet, but I will now that I have Jenna. She told me that once I had one baby, I’d find the other one.”

  “Who told you that?” Skye asked, confused. “The social worker?”

  “Don’t be stupid. It was Princess Diana.” Krissy’s voice was awestruck, then she blinked and snarled, “Now I’m going to ask you one more time. What are you doing here?”

  “I’m a neighbor,” Skye said quickly, her heart racing. More than likely, Krissy was schizophrenic and having hallucinations. How in the world had she passed the mental exam to become a surrogate? Then again, women were often asymptomatic and undiagnosed until their midtwenties, so Krissy’s first episode could have only recently occurred. Probably after her husband died. “I brought food over for Beilin. By the way, where is he?”

  “My fiancé is sleeping. I put a little zolpidem in his brandy. The advantage of being a caregiver for the elderly is that I can help myself to some of their meds without anyone even noticing.” Krissy eyed the door behind Skye. “I have a wheelchair in the van for him, but I needed to get Jenna situated first.”

  “But—”

  In a blink, Krissy’s mood changed and she shrieked, “You must really think I’m stupid.” Her mouth flattened and her face turned red. “You’re the police chief’s wife. I saw your picture online.”

  “True, Wally is my husband.” Skye’s voice cracked. “But we live across the street and I’m just—”

  “Liar. Beilin is building you a new house by the river. You’re living in an RV next to it until it’s finished.” Krissy blocked Skye’s attempt to edge around her by pointing her gun at Skye’s head. “I should just shoot you now. You and your husband have ruined everything.”

  “I don’t know what you mean.” Skye retreated until she was pressed against a door leading to what she assumed was another of the playhouse’s rooms.

  “Edie called me to let me know you’d found her.” Krissy waved the gun in the air. “Then when the chief left a message demanding that I come to the police station today, I knew he’d figured it all out.”

  Skye forced herself to remain composed. She couldn’t rush the woman. Jenna could get hurt in the struggle. Stalling for time, she asked, “What did he figure out?”

  Krissy snapped, “That Beilin and I were meant to be together with our daughter, but Fake Mother wouldn’t divorce him and leave.”

  “By Fake Mother, you mean Jerita?” She needed to keep the other woman talking. Wally would be out here soon. He’d only given Beilin five minutes to get into the house and it had to be longer than that since this nightmare with Krissy had begun.

  “Yes. Once Romano died, Princess Diana said that I was supposed to be with my real soul mate, Beilin.”

  “Did she tell you that in words?” Skye glanced over the woman’s shoulder. Had she seen someone at the front door’s window?

  “Of course not.” Krissy rolled her eyes. “She only talked to me once, and then when they medicated me, she never spoke again. Finally, I stopped taking the pills and Princess Di started sending me signs.”

  “Like what?” Skye forced herself to look at the woman.

  “The day I buried Romano, I saw Beilin and Jenna at the restaurant where we had the funeral luncheon. Fake Mother wasn’t with them so I knew that empty chair at their table was meant for me.”

  “Oh.” Skye flicked a glance at the door and saw it inching open. “Anything else?”

  “Yes. In Chicago, I worked as a nanny, and one afternoon when I went to pick up my charges after school, Jenna was waiting in the same line as those kids. She smiled at me and asked me to tie the ribbon in her hair.” Krissy’s tone had become dreamy. “That’s when I started to follow her.”

  Holy crap! It was difficult to keep up with Krissy’s constantly shifting reality.

  Skye was speechless for a moment, then said, “And Jerita saw you and panicked.”

  “Yes.” Krissy petted the sleeping child’s back. “Fake Mother tried to hide Jenna from me, but Princess Diana sent me another sign.”

  “She did?” Skye asked.

  “Yes. I kept looking online, and finally a story popped up about Beilin’s new construction company. It was all about how your old house had been destroyed in a tornado and your new place was his first project.” Wonder dripped from Krissy’s words. “So I moved to Scumble River and Princess Diana guided me into getting a job with the Bakers. It was only Saturdays and Sundays so I could watch Jenna during the week. I was even able to break in and get some pictures of her. But most of them included her fake mother so I didn’t want them. I figured the good ones were all on Fake Mother’s phone so I took it after I got rid of her.”

  “That makes sense.” Skye kept her voice agreeable. “She’d be the one taking the photos.”

  “Right.” Krissy smiled happily. “Then it turned out Edie really didn’t have dementia, and I knew I was supposed to help her find happiness. And once I did that, Princess Diana would guide me to mine.”

  “But why did you kill Jerita?” Skye asked.

  “When I was sure that I was really supposed to be Jenna’s mom, I contacted Fake Mother and explained. But she kept yapping about the contract that I’d signed.” Krissy’s voice held a burning rage.

  “That’s just how paralegals think,” Skye soothed, trying to both calm and stall the woman. “Everything has to be in black and white for them.”

  “I gave her several chances.” Krissy shook her head. “I told her to make an excuse to leave Beilin and then everything would be fine because I knew that he loved me.”

  Wally had eased into the playhouse and was advancing toward Krissy.

  “I take it Jerita said no?” Skye was intent on keeping Krissy talking so Wally could get the jump on her.

  “When she invited me over here, I thought she was finally coming to her senses.” Krissy scowled. “But then Fake Mother showed me a copy of a page of the contract that said I had relinquished all rights to Jenna. It was then I knew that she’d never do what she was supposed to do. She was going against Princess Diana. She was as bad as Camilla.”

  Camilla? The woman Prince Charles ended up marrying after he and Diana got divorced? Skye had never been a royal watcher, and after this conversation she never would be.

  Afraid to make a mistake talking about the royal family, Skye ignored that part of Krissy’s delusion and asked, “So what did you do?”

  Skye figured since Krissy was so talkative, she might as well try for a confession.

  “I pretended to agree and asked if I could see where Jenna played so I could have it as a memory.” Krissy patted the sleeping girl again. “When Fake Mother walked outside,
I grabbed the knife from the butcher block on the counter and followed her. She turned her back to point out the playhouse’s size and I hit her with the butt of my gun, then I stabbed her in the temple.” Krissy shuddered. “I didn’t want her to come back as the undead Fake Mother.”

  “Why didn’t you just shoot her?” Skye asked. Wally was right behind Krissy. Another step and he’d have her.

  “I was afraid the noise would bring out the neighbors.” Krissy sighed. “I know that woman across the street watches Beilin.” Krissy lowered her voice as if to tell Skye a secret. “I think she has a crush on him, but he’s mine.”

  Skye searched for a way to keep Krissy engaged. “Well, he is a nice-looking man and very charming.”

  “You like him too?” Krissy’s mouth fell open, then she snarled, “Well, you can’t have him.” She waved the gun in Skye’s face.

  “No. No. I don’t want him.” Skye’s blood was roaring in her ears. “He’s not my type.”

  “Shut up!” Krissy suddenly flew into a rage and backhanded Skye across the mouth. “I see now that Princess Diana is testing me with you.”

  Skye felt her rapidly swelling lip and tasted the blood. She could see Krissy’s thoughts were zipping from idea to idea like a fly in a bug zapper. The woman was starting to lose whatever part of reality she’d been able to hold onto before this. Her moods were changing from second to second and her physical movements were getting jerkier and less controlled.

  Krissy nodded to herself. “Princess Diana wants me to execute you to prove that I’m her loyal subject.”

  “Why would she want me dead?” Skye blurted out, then bit her tongue. That had been stupid.

  Krissy ignored Skye and continued to babble to herself. “I was so happy when I found Jenna. And it was perfect because since I’d been watching them, I knew that Beilin and Fake Mother weren’t getting along. So it was obvious that he didn’t love her and was ready to see that I was his soul mate, not her. Then I arranged to run into him in the supermarket and he paid for my groceries when I didn’t have enough money so I knew he loved me.”

  Krissy refocused on Skye and pointed the gun at her. Wally raised his own weapon and nodded to Skye. She tensed, ready to duck.

  Krissy slid Jenna to the floor and propped her up against the wall, then grasped her gun with two hands.

  As she stepped closer to Skye, Wally pressed his weapon to the back of Krissy’s head and yelled, “Freeze!”

  “Nooooo!” Krissy screamed and Skye heard the sound of a gun being cocked. “If you don’t leave before I count to three, I’ll shoot her.”

  Wally stood perfectly still as if he’d been tagged in a game of statues and Krissy turned toward him to gloat. “That’s better.”

  “Okay. You win. I’ll leave.”

  While Wally was distracting Krissy, Skye felt behind her until she located the doorknob. She sent a prayer of thanks when it turned and she could ease it open without a sound. Once it was a few inches from the frame, she allowed herself to fall backward.

  As Skye hit the floor, it sounded as if the world had exploded, and Krissy crumpled onto Skye. She shoved her off and scrambled away.

  As soon as Krissy hit the ground, Wally ran into the room. Beads of sweat stood out on his top lip and the expression on his face was a combination of rage and absolute terror.

  His gaze frantically sought Skye as he demanded, “Are you all right?”

  “Except for a bruised tailbone and a split lip, I’m fine.”

  While Skye checked on Jenna, Wally handcuffed Krissy to the door. Turning to where Skye was squatting in front of the unconscious little girl, he said, “Darlin’, you scared the living crap out of me.”

  “Me too.” Skye glanced at Jenna and the man passed out on the child-sized princess bed. “You’d better call an ambulance for these two.”

  “On the way.” Wally blew out a long breath. “I radioed for backup and EMTs as soon as I looked through the window and saw what was happening.”

  “Did you hear Krissy’s confession?” Skye asked.

  “Every word.” Wally’s smile was frightening. “She’ll probably end up somewhere for the criminally insane, but even Loretta wouldn’t be able to get her off scot-free from this.”

  Epilogue

  Take Me Home Tonight

  Skye stood in the foyer of the new home directing traffic. There were delivery people going in and out, as well as friends and family who had come over to help them move from the RV to their dream house. May had resigned herself to Dorothy as the twins’ nanny, and along with her friend, she had all four of her grandchildren, as well as Bingo in the garage apartment.

  Jed, Vince, Loretta, Uncle Charlie, Trixie, Owen, Judy, and Anthony were all busy hauling boxes or assembling furniture, but each of them occasionally snuck upstairs—some to play with the babies and others to play with the cat.

  A man wheeling a dolly with a large dresser strapped to it paused next to Skye and grunted, “Where’s this go?”

  “The master bedroom.” She gestured to her right. “At the end of that little hallway.”

  It had been ten days since Krissy Ficher had tried to kidnap Jenna and Beilin. Luckily neither of her victims was any the worse for the sedation she’d slipped in their tea party drinks. And Beilin had come through with his promise to finish construction and have Skye and Wally moved into their new place the first week of December.

  Skye had assured the contractor that they could wait if he wasn’t feeling up to working, but he’d insisted he was fine. Fortunately, Jenna had no memory of Krissy, and in order to make sure she didn’t hear anything at school, she was staying with Beilin’s parents until after Christmas.

  Beilin had confided in Skye that he thought by that time, the holiday excitement would make Krissy’s actions old news. Skye disagreed and explained that no matter how long Jenna was away, it was highly likely that someone would mention the incident to her when she returned to school.

  Skye had given Beilin the name of a therapist near his folks who could help him explain the situation in a way his daughter could understand and accept. She could only hope he would take her advice and contact the woman.

  Now, as Skye watched her new home coming together, she said a silent prayer for Jerita’s soul, and for Beilin and his daughter.

  Pushing away the sadness she felt for the Quinn family, Skye directed the placement of the dresser, then returned to her post in the foyer. This was a big day for her own family and she was determined to enjoy every second of it.

  Wally was wrangling all the toys and baby equipment they’d managed to amass since living in the motor home. The amount of paraphernalia was mind-boggling, and this was before all the gifts the twins would get for Christmas. Skye made a mental note to donate at least half of the current stuff to the Stanley County Women’s and Children’s Center.

  As Wally hauled a bassinet over the threshold, he asked, “Didn’t you order cribs for CJ and Eva?”

  “Yes.” Skye checked her clipboard. “They’ve already arrived and are in their rooms.”

  “Then why do we need the bassinets?” Wally wiped a drop of sweat from his brow.

  “I thought we could put them in our room for a while in case the twins have trouble sleeping in their new surroundings.”

  “No.” Wally reversed directions. “We are not starting that. The bassinets are going into the attic.”

  Skye chewed her lip. “You’re right.” It was exactly what she’d advise someone else to do. “But I’m warning you that when they cry, it’ll break your heart.”

  Several hours later, everything had either been delivered or moved, and Skye was taking a vote on what kind of pizzas to order when the doorbell played Jim Croce’s “Time in a Bottle.” She quickly glanced at Wally and blinked away a tear. As promised, he’d found the perfect song for them.

  Before S
kye could get to the door, it opened and Homer Knapik sauntered into the room holding a huge basket with a shiny red bow.

  He made his way to Skye, thrust the gift into her arms, and muttered, “Thanks.”

  “For what?” Skye asked as she examined the basket’s contents.

  There were two bottles of cabernet sauvignon, several types of sausages, various cheeses, a sleeve of wheat crackers, a box of chocolates, and a package of cookies. The gift had to have cost Homer a couple hundred bucks.

  “For getting Beilin and Earl to drop their lawsuits.” Homer pulled at the collar of his dress shirt. “And for getting me off the hook by finding Mrs. Quinn’s killer.”

  “So you no longer mind that I’m a dead body magnet or that I help the police with murder investigations?” Skye couldn’t resist taunting him a little after all the grief he had given her about working for the cops.

  “Nah.” Then as he marched back to the foyer, Homer added, “But don’t let it go to your head.” He paused to give her his signature glare. “And don’t for one minute think that anything between us at school has changed.” With that parting shot he stomped out of the house, letting the door bang shut behind him.

  Skye crossed her arms and gazed heavenward. Homer was still the same jerk he’d always been, and she’d bet money that by the time she returned to work, he’d have forgotten all about how she’d saved his sorry butt.

  Everyone had stopped talking when the principal had barged in, but once he was gone conversations restarted. At least until a second guest arrived.

  This time when “Time in a Bottle” played, the visitor waited for them to answer the door. Skye was shocked to see Beilin Quinn on their porch holding a gift bag, but she and Wally moved aside and the contractor crossed the threshold.

  Glancing at the crowd, he asked, “Could we talk somewhere a little more private?”

  “Absolutely.” Skye handed Trixie the pizza menu and said, “Can you call in the order while we talk to Beilin?”

  “Absolutely.” Trixie took her cell phone from the pocket of her jeans and gave Skye a thumbs-up.