As Skye replied to Dorothy, another message came in. This time it was from Wally.
If you have time after you’re finished at work, stop over at the PD before you go home.
She smiled happily when she saw that he’d signed it with a cute emoji of two happy faces kissing. He really was the sweetest guy.
Deciding that it would take more time to text a reply than to just drive the two miles from the school to the station, Skye started the SUV and steered the Mercedes out of the school’s lot. A few minutes later, she parked and walked toward the red brick building.
In order to avoid being waylaid by the dispatcher, Skye used her key to let herself into the station through the garage entrance. It wasn’t that she objected to exchanging pleasantries with Thea; it was more the length of the discussion. There seemed to be a twenty-minute minimum, during which the weather was thoroughly debated and their families’ well-being confirmed.
Walking down the short corridor that led to the staircase, Skye heard Thea talking, but no one answering. She realized that her evasion hadn’t been necessary as the dispatcher seemed to be tied up on the emergency line.
Abruptly, Thea’s voice change from her usual soothing tone into an annoyed bark. From what Skye could tell, it sounded as if the dispatcher was explaining to whomever was on the other end of the phone that being served onions on a sandwich when the order had been for a plain cheeseburger was not cause for either the caller to dial 911 or for the restaurant chef to be arrested.
Evidently someone was a very picky eater. And they didn’t know how to scrape off a disliked item from their burger. Handling the police, fire, and ambulance lines sounded almost as tricky as Skye’s job as a school psychologist. And she got paid a heck of a lot more than the fifteen dollars an hour the dispatchers earned.
Shaking her head at what people considered an emergency, Skye climbed to the second floor. When she got to the top but before she moved into the hallway, she carefully peered to her left.
The mayor’s office had a clear line of sight to the stairs’ landing, and her uncle had pounced on her one too many times to be comfortable stepping into the corridor without making sure he wasn’t around.
When she was certain that the coast was clear, it only took a second to walk to Wally’s office. Not bothering to knock, Skye pushed open the door and froze.
Why was Wally holding a strange woman in his arms?
Chapter 17
Can’t Help Falling in Love
Skye was still standing speechless in the doorway when Wally noticed her and said, “Thank goodness you’re here, darlin’.” He kept talking as he eased his burden into one of the visitors’ chairs. “This is Colleen Vreesen, Nanette’s friend. She came to the station to turn in her key for the Wraige’s house, but she started to feel dizzy while I was questioning her. I just barely caught her in time or she would have faceplanted on the floor.”
It was now evident to Skye that the woman was unconscious, or at least pretending to be. Skye was pretty sure that while Wally was explaining things to her, she’d seen the Vreesen woman’s eyes open for a nanosecond. There also might have been a tiny frown crawl across her lips.
“Can you take over while I call for an ambulance?” Wally asked, attempting to keep Colleen from slipping out of her seat.
“Sure.” Skye approached the supposedly comatose woman and got a grip on her shoulders. She noted that Colleen’s head was lolling against the back of the chair. “But wait a second on that telephone call.”
Wally stopped moving toward the phone. “Okay.” Clearly puzzled, he waited for her to clarify her request.
Skye took the woman’s arm and lifted it over her face. According to the continuing education seminar that she’d taken on factitious disorders, if Colleen allowed it to hit her nose, she really was out cold. But as Skye had suspected, when she let the woman’s hand drop, Colleen jerked it away.
The class instructor had explained that not many conscious people will allow themselves to be smacked in the snout. Prior experience has taught them that it really hurts and a defensive instinct takes over.
Although Colleen tried to continue the pretense, Skye said, “We know you’re faking, Ms. Vreesen, so you might as well sit up and talk to us.”
“Where am I?” Colleen’s eyelids fluttered like hummingbird wings and she looked around as if in a daze. “What happened to me?”
“You seem to have fainted.” Wally exchanged a glance with Skye.
“Oh my.” Colleen clutched her chest. “It’s just all been too much for me. First, the accident, then the news about Shamus.”
“I’m sure it has.” Skye pushed aside the fact she was ninety-nine percent sure the woman had faked her blackout and put on her therapist persona. “Would you like something to drink, or I can help you to the restroom so you can splash your face with cold water?”
She’d instinctually disliked the woman, but that was probably due to jealousy. Seeing her in Wally’s arms had stirred up a slew of negative emotions about herself. Skye had almost rid herself of the insecurity she felt being married to such a rich, handsome man, but evidently there was still a little hanging on.
“Who are you?” Colleen’s baby-blue eyes narrowed. “You weren’t here before.”
“This is my wife, Skye.” Wally stepped over and put his arm around Skye’s waist. “She’s also the psychological consultant for the police department.”
“Scumble River needs a psychologist? How interesting.” Colleen twisted a strand of ash-blond hair as she gazed at Wally. “I didn’t realize you were married, Chief.”
“Really?” Skye raised a brow. “Hard to miss the honking big wedding ring on his left hand.”
Wally tried to hide a chuckle as he flashed the wide platinum band on his ring finger, but Skye noticed his amusement and pinched his side.
He cleared his throat and his tone became professional as he said, “Just before you fainted, I had asked you to tell me your whereabouts between eight thirty and ten yesterday morning.”
“Right.” Colleen nodded. “I was actually on I-55 driving into the city, but I never got there. I ended up turning around and coming back here.”
“But didn’t you say that you arrived in Scumble River after midnight last night?” Wally asked. “That’s what you told me before you fainted.”
“That’s where the accident I mentioned comes in.” Colleen wet her lips. “A pickup swiped my car. I was able to take the Bolingbrook exit. I pulled into the nearest parking lot to see how much damage there was to my Prius.”
“How awful for you,” Skye said. “Did your car end up being undriveable?”
“No. As it turned out, the only damage was a bit of paint scraped off and my driver side mirror was smashed. Actually, the mirror was totally gone. Only a few wires were left sticking out of the hole.” Colleen shook her head. “I would have guessed there would have been more damage, but it seems as if I was lucky.”
“Then why did it take you so long to get back to Scumble River?” Skye asked.
“A Good Samaritan followed me. He wanted me to call the police, but what was the use?” Colleen sighed noisily. “I didn’t get the truck’s license plate and it was doubtlessly long gone.”
“You should always make a report,” Wally advised. “For your insurance if nothing else. Now you probably won’t be able to collect.”
“I wouldn’t make a claim anyway. My premium would go up more than it would cost me to just pay to replace the mirror myself.”
“Probably,” Wally agreed. “What you’ve told us still doesn’t explain why you were so late getting back to Scumble River.”
“When my Good Samaritan saw how shaken I was from the incident, he said he lived in a nearby housing development and insisted on taking me to his place so that I could rest,” Colleen explained.
“You got into a car with
a strange man and went to his home?” Wally scowled. “That was an extremely reckless thing to do.”
“You’re right.” Colleen’s pupils dilated. “I don’t know what I was thinking. I must have been in shock.” She shrugged. “But all’s well that ends well. The guy was a sweetheart. I ended up sleeping for several hours, then when I woke up and saw the text from Nanette that Shamus was dead, I was so stunned.”
“I imagine you wanted to get back to Scumble River right away to be with your friend in her hour of need,” Skye said dryly. So far, she didn’t believe a word the woman had uttered. “To comfort her.”
“I did, but I felt woozy when I stood up and my Good Samaritan told me that I needed to eat because my blood sugar was probably low.” Colleen touched her hair. “He made me dinner, then we started watching this movie while I ate, and well, I didn’t end up getting back on the road until after ten.”
“Let me get this straight,” Skye said slowly. “After being hit by a truck on I-55 and finding out your best friend’s husband had been killed, you basically went on a date with a guy you just met?”
“I guess you could say that I did.” Colleen giggled and tugged on her ear. “You probably think that I’m terrible, but life’s too short to worry.”
“Hmm.” Skye made a noncommittal sound, then having nothing else to say, gave Wally a look indicating she was done.
“I’ll need the Good Samaritan’s full name and address.” Wally took out his memo pad, clicked on his pen, and stared at Colleen.
“Uh…” She bit her lip. “Let me see. It was Merle, or maybe Burl?”
“How about his surname?” Wally prompted. “Merle or Burl what?”
“It might have been Brown, no maybe Green.” Colleen closed her eyes. “I know it was definitely some color. Possibly Black or White or Gray?”
“How about where he lives?” Wally encouraged. “Did you notice the street?”
“Sorry.” Colleen tapped her chin. “As I mentioned, I think I was in shock, and the area was really twisty. And then when he drove me back to my car it was dark.”
“Did the development have a name?” Wally asked, and when she shook her head, he said, “Could you find the house if we took you there?”
“Probably not. At the best of times, I have a terrible sense of direction.” Colleen widened her eyes. “Why is this important?”
“We need to confirm your alibi.” Wally leaned a hip against his desk. “Did you get his phone number?”
“My what!” Colleen squealed. “You think that I killed Shamus?”
“At this point, we’re still ruling people out,” Wally explained.
“I didn’t get his number, but I gave him mine. If he calls, I’ll have him get in touch with you. And you can come down to the parking lot with me and see the damage on my car.” Colleen crossed her arms and frowned. “I can’t believe you’re being so mean about this. Nanette can tell you I didn’t get to the apartment until nearly midnight.”
Wally asked a few more questions, then accompanied Colleen downstairs to look at her vehicle. While he was gone, Skye checked in with Dorothy, who reported that Eva was playing with her Crinkle and Roar Lion and CJ was on the twins’ Kick ’n Play Piano Gym.
She sent Skye a picture of them both and Skye thanked her, then admired her beautiful babies. With all the photos and videos Dorothy sent throughout the day, Skye didn’t feel as if she was missing her children’s progress as much as she had feared.
After telling Dorothy that she and Wally would be home within the hour, Skye hung up. She looked around, trying to decide what to do until Wally returned, then walked behind his desk.
Taking a seat, Skye searched for a clean legal pad and found one in his top drawer. She grabbed a pen and started writing.
There was something off about Colleen, but she couldn’t put her finger on what exactly was bothering her about the woman. She jotted down her questions:
Why had she pretended to faint? Was it to seduce Wally or was it to distract him from his line of questioning?
Would a thirtysomething woman really go off with a stranger? And if so, why had she stayed so long at his house?
If she and Nanette were such close friends, wouldn’t Colleen hurry back after finding out Nanette’s husband had been killed?
Skye chewed on the end of the pen. What was wrong with this picture?
She was still trying to come up with an answer when Wally strode into the office.
He did an exaggerated double take, smiled broadly, and teased, “Chief Boyd, my how you’ve changed. Why are you out of uniform?”
“That’s Mrs. Chief Denison-Boyd,” Skye joked back at him. “The department has never issued me a uniform. Should I complain?”
“Well…” Wally drawled. “You would look adorable in a Scumble River Police Department pants and shirt, but I think plain clothes”—he winked—“or no clothes, is better for your position.”
“That could be considered harassment.” Skye wagged her finger at him. “But because you’re cute, I’ll let it go this time.” She rose, picked up the legal pad she’d been using, and moved to a visitor’s chair, then after Wally was seated behind his desk, she said, “I suspect a good deal of what Colleen told us was a lie.”
“Not that I disagree, but why do you think that?” Wally leaned back in his chair.
“One, she spontaneously provided way too much minutiae.” Skye glanced at her notes. “Two, she became testy when you questioned her about the Good Samaritan’s details. Three, it’s odd she couldn’t recall anything that would help us identify the guy. And lastly, her pupils were dilated, which happens when the nervous system is stressed.”
“Good to know.” Wally leaned forward. “Before I forget, I spoke to the state police investigator today, and Charlie’s in the clear. They’ve released his car and will let him reopen the motel on Monday.”
“That’s awesome!” Skye beamed, then asked, “Was that why you want me to stop by?”
“No. I have couple other things to discuss.” Wally selected a folder and flipped it open. “And once we’re home, I know we’ll get distracted with bath time for the twins and supper for us, and all the other stuff that takes up our evenings now that we have kids.”
“True.” Skye sat back and crossed her legs. “Then let’s get to it. I told Dorothy we wouldn’t be too long. You know it’s her bowling night.”
“Okay, what did Neva have to say?” Wally stared expectantly at Skye.
“How do you know I got anything from her?” Skye studied her nails.
“Because you’re amazing.” Wally’s lips twitched upward. “Spill.”
“She has a signed contract for the position of assistant superintendent, so Dr. Wraige’s death doesn’t affect her one way or another.”
“And?” Wally encouraged. “What else?”
“She said that Dr. Wraige tended to hold board members’ secrets over them to get his own way.” Skye fingered a chip in the pink polish on her thumb. When had that happened? “She also said it would only take one motivated person on the board to sway the vote.”
“Hmm.” Wally tapped his pen against his cheek, then said, “Great. Now I have to interview the entire school board as well as the whole transportation department.” Once he’d recounted what Dorothy had told him about the bus drivers, he asked, “Have you heard about anyone else at school that has a beef with Wraige?”
“Not that I can think of offhand.” Skye closed her eyes and thought about the rumors floating around the schools. “The teachers and support staff are pretty well insulated from the superintendent due to their contract.” She chewed her bottom lip. “The secretaries and custodians answer directly to the principals.”
“Neva seemed to have him where she wanted him. How about the others?”
“Caroline doesn’t make waves, but…” Skye stuttered t
o a stop. “You know, he has been threatening to force Homer to retire.”
“Could he really do that?” Wally asked, his expression disbelieving.
“I doubt it.” Skye rolled her eyes and smirked. “Homer would be hard to blackmail because he’s too dumb to hide things very well.”
“I’ll check on his alibi, but I think we can eliminate him.”
Skye glanced at her watch. “What have you found out today?” They needed to hurry it up. Dorothy liked to go out for dinner with her friends before their bowling league, which meant she needed to leave the house no later than five thirty. “Any forensics?”
“Nothing from the lab yet.” Wally flipped through some papers in the file. “But Doris Ann did send over her preliminary findings.”
“Anything interesting?” Skye asked leaning forward to see the report.
“There was something odd in his stomach contents.” Wally tapped the page. “Doris Ann said that normally, with an obvious cause of death like bleeding out from a wound, she wouldn’t have been too concerned with an unidentifiable item in a body’s stomach, but because you mentioned Wraige had seemed ill, she’s having it analyzed and will get back to us with the results. She wants to know his exact symptoms as that will help her figure out what tests to run.”
“He was pale and sweaty and his hands were trembling.” Skye wrinkled her brow. “He swayed as if he were dizzy, and then while we were hiding, he complained about diarrhea and nausea. If you’d made us a wait a few minutes more, I think he would have had to use a bucket in the corner.”
Wally made a note. “I’ll pass that on to Doris Ann.”
“Why would it matter what’s in his stomach?” Skye asked, frowning. “As you said, the arrow in the neck caused exsanguination, which led to his death.”
“True.” Wally tented his fingers. “But what if there had been a previous attempt on his life?”
Chapter 18
I’ve Got You Under My Skin
Early the next morning, Wally headed to the bus barn. He yawned and gulped down a mouthful of coffee. Returning his travel mug to the Hummer’s cup holder, he yawned again. It was still dark, and after dragging himself out of bed before dawn, he needed all the caffeine he could hold in order to wake up enough to conduct coherent interviews with the drivers.
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