Truth in the Bones

by Vickie McKeehan

  “Are you sure? She hasn’t had her nap yet. She could get fussy.”

  Josh wiped off applesauce from Sierra’s mouth before picking her up. “If that’s the case, then we’ll cut it short and head home. I have that Pack N Play thing in my office. If she gets sleepy maybe I’ll get her to nap in that.”

  “Give it a shot. If you have problems, let me know.”

  Later, Skye found herself alone in the kitchen with Lena while Judy headed off to a dental appointment.

  Chewing her lip, Skye handed Lena a bottle of water from the fridge and tried to work up the courage to pry. “I know Josh doesn’t want me sticking my nose in where it doesn’t belong but, how are things going with you and Travis?”

  Lena’s lips curved up. “Your father is a complicated man. But then I knew that going in. I didn’t sit there in the Country Kitchen all those years ordering a hot sandwich and not catch glimpses of his moody side.”

  “He can be,” Skye admitted. “He’s always been less than forthcoming about…just about anything.”

  “I’m not sure whether Travis is still hung up on Chenoa or…”

  “He’s not. I know that much for a fact. What makes you think that?”

  “A woman picks up on those kinds of things. If it isn’t Chenoa then maybe he’s still carrying a torch for your mother.”

  “That would be…pointless, especially after all this time. Although I’ve come to realize first love goes deep. Is there something specific that’s bothering you? Is he being noticeably distant?”

  Lena let out a sigh. “Distant is a good word for it. Since you asked, I’d normally keep this kind of stuff to myself, but…about two weeks ago I got up in the middle of the night and found him pacing in his study. I ask him what was wrong because I was worried.”

  “That’s reasonable.”

  “Exactly. That’s what I thought, especially since he had this concerned, weird look on his face. It took him a long time to answer me. So long I wasn’t sure he planned to. Anyway, when he did he claimed it was nothing. But he was clearly upset about something. So that morning at breakfast I kept at it, asking him what had bothered him enough to get up in the middle of the night. I suppose I should’ve dropped it, but my needling him pissed him off. He blew up at me. Things haven’t been the same between us since. He seems…preoccupied…all the time, especially when we’re alone. I wondered though, do you suppose he’s having money problems?”

  “Not that I know of.”

  “Have you noticed anything bothering him lately?”

  Skye looked out the window, avoiding eye contact until she could think up the right wording to use. “Honestly, it’s more of a gut feeling I’ve had. Josh won’t even let me broach the subject because he thinks I’m worming my nose in where it doesn’t belong. I don’t want to come between you two. But remember that Saturday night we had dinner with you guys about two weeks back? It was that night I got this sense that something had changed between you two. I can’t explain it more than that. And now it seems I was right to worry.”

  “Your father’s never been one to open up about things. Never. He’s almost…secretive. Even when I used to come into Country Kitchen, I’d see things and comment on them. But would he answer me directly? Nope. Even if it was something as insignificant as a problem with a supplier. Which is the main reason you can’t force things to work out when they aren’t meant to.”

  “It sounds like you two are headed for a breakup.”

  “Maybe we are. Maybe we spend too much time apart. Our relationship basically exists on the weekends—Friday nights to Sunday afternoons. If we aren’t getting along for that brief time, I’m not sure that’s enough to form a deeper bond. You know what I mean?”

  “I do. This sounds much more serious than what I originally thought.”

  “Look, I didn’t bring it up because of me. I’m fine. It’s Travis I’m worried about. I think there’s something seriously going on with him. Try to dip your toe into his business though and he gets madder than a hornet. Honestly, I’m not sure I like that.”

  “I don’t blame you. But it sounds like you really are worried about him, aren’t you?”

  “Yeah, I am. This is embarrassing, but I even thought of asking one of the guys to…do some snooping into his…activities during the week, the time we spend apart.”

  Lena held up a hand. “And before you yell at me, I couldn’t go through with it. For one thing, it really is none of my business. Although I’m hurt that he doesn’t trust me enough to talk about it. This started out small, but it’s taken flight now and…I’m afraid…something has him…acting more distant than normal. Plus, if he doesn’t think enough of me to tell me what’s going on, then maybe we shouldn’t be together.”

  “I’m glad you told me. Although I’m not sure what to do about it.”

  “That makes two of us. And if that wasn’t bad enough, I’m a little worried about this crush Zoe has on Winston. A sixteen-year-old shouldn’t be obsessed with a twenty-year-old man. I don’t like it. Even though Winston is a perfectly nice person…”

  “Jeez, when did this happen? I was just getting used to…” Skye lowered her voice. “Why didn’t you tell me Judy and Reggie were…together?”

  Lena’s face lit up in surprise. “What? You’re kidding. I had no idea.”

  “Oh, come on. We can’t both be so oblivious. Those two were all over each other Saturday night at my house.”

  “It’s news to me.” When Skye continued to stare at her in disbelief, Lena explained, “Look, I’m not the busybody type. Plus, I’ve been wrapped up in my issues with Travis. Although Reggie does make a point of coming down here quite a bit, usually around lunch time. He brings us sandwiches, always includes me in that.” Lena lifted a shoulder. “I just thought Reggie was being sweet. So he and Judy, huh? Go figure.”

  “Well it’s none of my business. Finding happiness in this world is rare. I’m delighted for both of them. It’s time Judy broke out of her solitude and joined the human race with a relationship. I’m sure that’s probably what people said about me behind my back. But then I know what it’s like, wading through that first wave of attraction as an adult when you’re so inexperienced. It can be confusing and more than embarrassing. Judy seems to be handling it well enough though. So tell me, how long has this thing been going on with Zoe and Winston?”

  “It’s not a thing. Yet. But not quite two months. Remember that case you were working on where we pulled an all-nighter here? After we got back home, all Zoe could talk about was Winston this and Winston that. I didn’t get the gist of why until about a week later when she insisted on coming to the office on a Saturday. Winston was here when we walked in the door.”

  “Crushes come and go. Just look at what happened with Francine. She’s totally past Josh now. Do you know if Winston has encouraged Zoe in any way?”

  “I don’t think so. Nothing overt anyway.”

  “Do you want me to talk to him?”

  “Would you? I don’t want to make him mad or anything or make it seem as if I’m accusing him of doing anything wrong. This is all on Zoe. I checked her cell phone, which I’m not one bit ashamed of doing. The two text occasionally but it isn’t a romantic sort of thing.”

  “But they must have coordinated text messages to be here on a Saturday,” Skye pointed out.

  “True. I have to admit, she’s the one who seems infatuated, not the other way around.”

  “Don’t worry. I’ll talk to Winston and see how he’s handling it.”

  At the end of the day Winston finished his work at Ander All Games and stopped at the third floor. It wasn’t unusual for him to check in before heading home.

  Sticking his head in the door, Winston adjusted his glasses and stood looking around, looking a little lost. “Everything all right in here?”

  “Come on in,” Skye directed. “I’m back here sorting through the files, figuring out the ones I need to take home with me.”

  “I’m surpris
ed to see you still here.”

  “Not really. I’m waiting for Josh to finish what he’s doing upstairs. He’s been babysitting Sierra all afternoon, even though ‘take your daughter to work day’ isn’t for another few weeks. I wanted to thank you for all the work you did on this case. Finding the Ebert family may have been the icing on the cake we were looking for.”

  “So it helped? You think the Ebert family belongs in the Cross-country Killer stack? That would probably mean that Gerald Ebert is dead.”

  “We think so. We’re kicking around whether we should take a trip to Nevada and see the place for ourselves. Getting permission from the current owners could be a problem though. I’m not sure I ever said it, but I’m sorry things didn’t work out with you and Rhonda.”

  “It’s okay. We had a lot of fun together while it lasted.”

  “So the breakup was amicable?”

  “Had to be. After she took a job in Portland there was really no point in a long-distance relationship. I wasn’t about to leave my friends here and she wasn’t going to stay in Seattle. Someone like Rhonda, pretty and outgoing, won’t ever have a problem making new friends wherever she goes. With her sunny disposition, it took her about two seconds after she got there to get a new boyfriend. Me? It’ll take me another two years to find a woman who wants to be with someone like me.”

  “You mean someone nice?”

  “Yep. Women don’t go for nice guys. They fall for guys who look like hunks and treat them like crap.”

  “I’m certainly not the right person to dish out relationship advice. I’ve already told you any girl would be lucky to have you in her life. But…I need to ask. What about this thing with Zoe?”

  “What thing?”

  “Come on, Winston. Zoe has a crush on you, just as much of one as Francine had on Josh.”

  Winston scowled. “Zoe’s way too young for me.”

  “Have you told her that?”

  “I’ve tried in a roundabout sort of way. I don’t want to hurt her feelings, though. I don’t like hurting people’s feelings. You know that.”

  “Yeah, I do. But with teenagers you need to be direct. Subtlety doesn’t seem to work.”

  “Do you think you could talk to Zoe and get her to understand that texting me all the time is weird?”

  “Zoe texts you?”

  “No less than ten times a day, usually in the afternoon and evenings.”

  “I didn’t know that.”

  “Just since we got together Saturday night at your house.”

  “The texting increased after that? Well, I promised Lena I’d talk to you about it.”

  “Why? What can I do? How do I get her to stop? I’m not desperate enough that I’m interested in a high schooler. Zoe’s too young for me. I haven’t done a single thing to encourage her, either.”

  Skye smiled. “Winston, sometimes it takes more than that. You have to discourage her along the way.”

  “I don’t know how to do that without hurting her feelings.”

  Skye patted him on his thin shoulder. “I know you don’t. That’s why I’ll run interference. Think how disillusioned Francine became once she knew Josh wasn’t exactly her dream guy.”

  “You plan to tell her I’m an awful person? That’s kind of mean.”

  “That’d be difficult to do since you’re no such thing. Francine didn’t become disillusioned with Josh because she thought he was a horrible person, just that he possessed a few traits she didn’t care for all that much.”

  “I thought it was weird that she never seemed to grasp the fact that Josh was married with a kid. Francine didn’t seem to focus on that at all.”

  “Yeah, I noticed. Francine didn’t just miss that part, she totally ignored the wife and kid part.”

  “What will you tell Zoe?”

  “That I think she needs to find someone her own age.”

  “Do you think she’ll listen?”

  “Zoe’s reasonable about most things. Do me a favor though. When she texts you again, make sure your response is as brief as you can make it.”

  “Why?”

  “Shows disinterest. It’s one thing to break Francine’s little bubble, it’s quite another to dash Zoe’s. This will be tough.”

  “See what I mean? Difficult to fix. I’ve had my heart broken enough to know it’s tough at sixteen to think someone isn’t interested in you like that.”

  “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure she still thinks of you as a friend.” She turned to go into the office area. “Now back to business. Could you show me how you work your magic? I need to look up any police incidents around the time the Maldonados were murdered. Anything at all—traffic stops to burglaries to prowler reports.”

  Winston sat down at her laptop. “Which location? Columbia City?”

  “Yep. Start with parking tickets along the streets nearby. Don’t eliminate any out of state plates either. They could belong to rental cars.”

  Winston chuckled. “You don’t ask much, do you? Fine. I’ll see what pops up.”

  Thirteen

  Tuesday evening

  Skye let the dog out to pee as her mind delved into a slew of problems. She went about puttering in the kitchen putting on dinner. She usually enjoyed this chore more than any other. There was something about preparing a meal for the people you loved that made it all worthwhile once you sat down to enjoy the food. But tonight, her head pounded with enough confusion and uncertainty to make it tedious.

  While she dipped chicken strips into a breading mixture she’d created from scratch, she tried to come up with a few solutions. Her troubling issues had no quick fixes. But as she dropped the meat into an oblong pan that would bake in the oven, she went back over a list of things she needed to tackle.

  Was Lena right? Was something going on with Travis that she hadn’t picked up on? Had she been so busy she’d overlooked telltale signs that her father was unhappy or sad or worried? He’d seemed fine on Sunday. But then he’d always been the stubborn sort—one reason they’d spent so much time apart as father and daughter. He was always too unwilling to share his problems with anyone else, even his daughter. She thought back to the weekend and admitted that too much had been going on to zero in on any issues.

  Her fault.

  She chewed the inside of her jaw, feeling that degree of guilt sink in and hang on. Why did they always have trouble staying on the same page for very long? It mostly had to do with her father’s stubborn pride. He didn’t like meddlers who poked their noses into his private life. But why was he always so secretive with the women in his life? Or maybe it was just her. But then she remembered that Travis hadn’t told her about his relationship with Chenoa after dating the woman for almost two years. An unfair thing to do, in her book. And now, this thing with Lena. She’d had high hopes for that relationship to work out. But now Lena was talking about breaking it off. Why wouldn’t Lena consider ending it? Lena was being shut out, too. This time, Skye was determined to dig out the reason why before her father royally screwed things up.

  But how could she get him to talk about it? There had to be a way to find out what was wrong.

  And how could she get Zoe to understand that Winston was way too old for her? Five years was just too…weird. And sixteen-year-olds could be even more pigheaded than fathers. If she stopped to take stock in her life, she could only marvel at why she had so many headstrong people around her. Mulish is what they were. Could she get Zoe to back off without making her mad? Probably not, but it was a risk she had to take.

  On top of all that, she wondered when the serial killer might strike again. Did they have time to stop him before his next attack? They were on a countdown clock that kept ticking away inside her head.

  “Need any help?” Josh asked and watched Skye jump what seemed like two feet off the floor. “Sorry. I didn’t realize you were so jumpy.”

  “My mind was racing a hundred miles an hour in a dozen different directions.”

  “I see that. About what?
I had Reggie pull the police reports from the night of the Maldonado murders just to find out what was going on in the neighborhood.”

  Skye laughed and shoved the chicken into the hot oven. “Before I left the Foundation I had Winston look, too.”

  “Then you know it was a busy night for Seattle PD. I’m still going through the data. What’s got you so spooked?”

  “Just the thousand things rumbling around in my head. Have you noticed Travis acting weird lately?”

  Josh clenched his jaw as if trying not to answer that and angled toward the back door to let Atka back in. “Why do you ask?”

  She turned from the stove to glare at him. “For starters, anytime anyone answers a question with a question, I’m dubious about their response.”

  “That’s what I get for marrying a skeptic. Okay. Here’s what I know. About a month ago Travis approached my dad about a business deal, something to do with a horse. Dad agreed to invest and then the next thing he knows Travis is backing out of the deal, says he doesn’t need the money after all. Beyond that, I have no idea what happened or what any of it means.”

  “How do I not know this stuff?”

  “In case you haven’t noticed, we’ve been a little busy. And not just these past few days. We have a business to run, a non-profit Foundation that requires a presence almost every day, and an active toddler who needs our attention. Sierra’s growing like a weed, faster than I can keep up. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to miss a single thing she does. I’m afraid if I do I’ll miss something for the very first time that she may never do again. Firsts are important. Hands-on is important.”

  “Then what’s the answer? Some days I feel like we’re stuck on Bainbridge Island, too far away from the action. The commute to the mainland is so insane it takes precious time away from…everything else. Should we look for a place in Seattle and keep the farm as a weekend retreat?”