Come Homicide or High Water

by Denise Swanson

  “Oh. Maybe.” Skye twitched her shoulders. “But she has some mild dementia, so the police have to look into her disappearance.”

  “Of course.” May scowled, yanking at the neckline of her sweatshirt. “But Dante needs to get those Bord du Lac property taxes raised.”

  “I’m sure he will,” Skye assured her. May’s brother, Dante, was the mayor of Scumble River, and while there were a lot of things Skye didn’t like about her uncle, he was good at his job, so the fact he hadn’t found a way to increase the Bord du Lac property taxes was surprising.

  “That dang lawyer of theirs keeps messing things up. Dante needs to let Loretta take a shot at it.” May’s eyes sparkled, their emerald green the same brilliant color she’d passed on to both Skye and Vince. “My daughter-in-law would make that guy go crying to his mama with his tail between his legs.”

  “True.” Skye straightened and went to kiss Eva and CJ goodbye. “But is Loretta still taking on clients this far along in her pregnancy?”

  “Yep.” May shook her head. “You know your sister-in-law. She always has all her ducks in a row. She’ll be writing briefs as they wheel her into the delivery room.”

  “Sadly, I don’t have either ducks or a row.” Skye shook her head. “All I have are squirrels, and they’re too ADD to line up.” As she started toward the utility room, she said, “Okay. I have to get going. I should be back by three at the latest. Call me if you need anything.” She put on her shoes and paused with her hand on the back doorknob. “Oh, get the twin’s bottles out of the diaper bags and put them in the fridge. Don’t use any old ones you have in the freezer. I only want them to have the combo formula and breast milk that I prepared this morning.”

  “I was taking care of babies before you were born.” May shot Skye a look. “Eva and CJ and I will be fine.” She made a shooing motion with her hand. “You go find the missing woman and rescue your intern.”

  “Thanks, Mom!” Skye waved and hurried to the SUV.

  She slid behind the wheel, buckled up, and reversed out onto the road. She hoped the interview with Mr. Baker wouldn’t take too long. She really needed to get to the elementary school early enough to review a student’s file and go over Piper’s findings.

  At the insistence of the child’s mother, Piper had evaluated a first grader as a candidate for the gifted and talented program. The woman had been unhappy with the results of the assessment, and she was now demanding additional testing. However, from what Piper had reported to Skye, there wasn’t much chance the new scores would qualify the girl.

  It was a shame Skye couldn’t just tell the mother that Scumble River’s gifted program wasn’t any great shakes and her daughter would get just as much from being assigned to one of the better first-grade teachers.

  Sadly, while gifted programs were mandated, they weren’t funded by either the state or federal governments. And truth be told, the district just didn’t have the money to run a stellar one.

  Sort of like how the town didn’t have the money to launch a massive search for the missing woman. A woman who more than likely had fallen into and drowned in one of the many lakes located in the Bord du Lac community. There were usually a couple of drownings a year in those lakes, and with Mrs. Baker’s impaired mental status, an accident like that was high on the list of explanations for her disappearance.

  Chapter 2

  Edie Baker, Won’t You Please Come Home

  After leaving her parents’ place, Skye glanced in the rearview mirror at the empty car seats in the back of the SUV. It still felt weird to leave the twins, but she’d better get used to it before her maternity leave was over. Having had the nanny for so short a time, Skye hadn’t had a chance to acclimate to being apart from her babies for any length of time.

  Even though she regularly helped out Piper at school a couple of times a week, the two or three hours she was gone didn’t seem as if she was really separated from CJ and Eva for long. But come January 2, she’d be gone at least nine hours for five days in a row.

  Skye’s throat closed and she blinked back a tear. What if they said their first word or got their first tooth when she wasn’t there? They were already smiling, cooing, and reaching for objects.

  Shaking her head, she rolled her eyes. She’d promised herself she wouldn’t be that parent. Skye was fully aware of maternal separation anxiety and determined to focus on minimizing her guilt and fears. She knew the babies would reflect her feelings, and if she was uptight leaving the twins, they would be a screaming nightmare for the nanny.

  It wasn’t as if whomever she and Wally hired wouldn’t be thoroughly screened—they’d probably known more about the previous nanny than she did herself. And because of Carson’s enormous wealth and high-profile position as CEO of one of the biggest oil and gas companies in Texas, there was a full-time security team assigned to guard CJ and Eva from any outside threat.

  At first, Skye had been reluctant to have a security detail watching the twins’ every move, but her father-in-law had assured her that his men were among the best in the country. He’d promised her that most of the time Skye wouldn’t even be aware of their presence.

  When she’d raised a doubtful eyebrow at his assurance, Carson had pointed out that there had been a team on him since his arrival in Scumble River and that she’d never even known it. He’d added that while he’d love to have guards on both Skye and Wally, he accepted that they would refuse them, but babies would be a much easier kidnapping target than an adult.

  With that warning, Skye had caved in. Having lived through her husband’s abduction, she wasn’t sure that she’d survive if her children were snatched. Evidently recognizing her weakened resistance to the idea of security, Carson had offered to install cameras in their home that she could operate to keep an eye on the nanny and Skye had accepted.

  Although that had turned out to be a part of the reason their first nanny had quit, Skye was not about to remove the security devices. She’d just warn the women they were interviewing, and if they didn’t like it, they shouldn’t take the job. She rolled her eyes. Too bad nothing could prepare them for May.

  Heck! With the surveillance cameras, if she missed a first with CJ or Eva, she could at least watch the recording.

  As Skye turned into the police station’s lot, she scanned for a parking place. The PD shared the building with the library and city hall, so it wasn’t unusual for the lot to be full and today was no exception.

  Skye waited patiently for a spot to open up, and once it did, she pulled the SUV between the faded white lines of a slot recently vacated by a teen driving a bright-blue Chevy Spark. Exiting the Mercedes, she began to make her way across the lot, keeping a watchful eye out for cracks in the murky gray asphalt. The increase in business at the city hall and police station after the tornado had taken its toll on the blacktop.

  They’d had a mild fall with temperatures remaining mostly in the sixties and seventies, but today there was a nip in the air and the meteorologist’s promise of a snowy winter appeared much more likely than it had seemed in the balmy autumn. The odor of burning leaves had Skye’s nose twitching, and she quickened her pace before she started sneezing. While she loved the seasonal smell, her sinuses did not.

  She made a beeline for the police garage and used her key to let herself in through the PD’s back entrance. Stepping inside, she was surprised by the silence. Usually she could at least hear the daytime dispatcher clicking away on her computer’s keyboard or talking to someone on the telephone, but not today.

  As she walked down the narrow corridor, she glanced at the break room’s sparkling window. Her mother always cleaned it just before her shift ended at midnight. And woe be it to anyone who got a fingerprint or smudge on it during the next sixteen hours.

  Wally’s office was on the second level, as was the mayor’s. And while Dante was Skye’s uncle, there was little love lost between her family and
his. On the other hand, since Wally had come clean about his family’s wealth, Dante had become his new best friend.

  Skye climbed the stairs, but before she could make it down the short corridor to Wally’s office, Dante burst out of his like one of those pop-out snakes from a fake can of peanuts, and Skye barely swallowed a scream.

  His resemblance to the Penguin in the old Batman television shows was pronounced and it was always a bit of a surprise when his voice didn’t match as he snarled, “Tell me you aren’t here because of that old woman?”

  “But if I lie, I’ll have to go to confession.” Skye smirked.

  “Shit!” Dante pointed an unlit cigar at Skye. “She’s probably gone shopping.”

  “You know, you sound a lot like your sister.” Skye crossed her arms.

  “And now we have to pay your salary.” Dante ignored her comment about May, and his gaze grew crafty as he said, “With your husband’s money, you should waive your fee. It isn’t as if you need it.”

  As usual, Dante rubbed her the wrong way and she smirked, “You know what they say. Life is like a doughnut. You’re either in the dough or in the hole.” More often than not, Skye didn’t complete the paperwork to get paid the hours she spent consulting for the police department, but she’d never admit that to him. Making a “get out of my way” gesture, she added, “You’re costing the city each minute you delay me here in the hall.”

  “What?” Dante squawked. “You’re not on the clock yet, missy.”

  “I am from the moment I enter the building.” Skye smiled sweetly. “But since we’re related and all, I don’t charge you for my walk across the parking lot.” She put her hands on her hips. “Can I go now?”

  “By all means.” Dante narrowed his dark, beady eyes. “Hop to it.”

  When Skye turned away from her uncle, she saw Wally leaning against his open doorway grinning, and she asked, “Been there long?”

  “I think I caught the whole show.” Wally enveloped her in a hug and after kissing her breathless asked, “How come you didn’t tell Hizzoner that you rarely take any money for your work here?”

  “He ticked me off.” Skye jerked her chin in the direction of Dante’s closed door and scowled at it. “His and my mother’s attitude about this poor missing woman just…just burns my grits.”

  Wally chuckled. “You’ve been hanging out with my dad too much, sugar.”

  “At least your father doesn’t curse.” Skye wrinkled her nose. “Which is more than I can say for his girlfriend. I thought that relationship would be over by now.” She raised an eyebrow at Wally. “Didn’t you?”

  It had been quite a surprise to find out that Carson and Bunny Reid were an item. Even more of a shock had been the way they found out that the couple were cohabitating. Especially since Bunny was Simon Reid’s mother and Simon was Skye’s ex-boyfriend.

  “Yep.” Wally frowned and rubbed his chin. “Unfortunately, Dad and Reid’s mother seem to be getting along like a house afire.”

  “Or a bowling alley blown up.” Skye giggled, then when she remembered that someone had lost their life over that incident, she slapped her hand over her mouth and swallowed her laughter. “Well, we’d better get down to business before Uncle Dante docks both of our pay.”

  “Yep.” Wally’s voice dripped with sarcasm. “’Cause Hizzoner never wastes the taxpayers’ money taking time for his personal affairs.”

  “Is Mr. Baker here or are we going to his place?” Skye asked.

  “His place.” Wally gestured to the steps. “I’ll fill you in on the drive out to Bord du Lac.” Skye descended the stairs and Wally followed. Once they reached the first floor, he led her out of the garage door and toward his squad car. “I’ve got Martinez and Anthony out there combing the development, but I’m hoping Gerald Baker can tell us something that will help us narrow down the search.”

  “I’m curious why you needed me.” Skye slid into the cruiser, and once Wally had settled behind the wheel, she added, “Not that I’m not happy to help.”

  “When Gerald Baker called to report his wife missing, he was agitated to the point of incoherence.” Wally slid a quick glance at Skye. “My impression of Baker is that he is a bit of an odd duck.”

  “You got that from a single phone conversation?” Skye admired her husband’s craggy profile but noticed that the silver frosting his dark hair at his temples had increased. “I hope you’d be a little frantic if I was missing.”

  “He’s one of those three or four guys that are always bellyaching about something in the Star.” Wally took another hasty peek at Skye. “You know, in that column where people call in, record their complaints, and the editor writes them up.” Returning his attention to the two-lane blacktop, Wally commented, “Most of the people prefer to remain anonymous, but not Baker and those others. They sign their names to every single rant.”

  “Interesting.” Skye hadn’t had time to read the paper since the tornado. “But I don’t think someone who is willing to take responsibility for his opinions is a crackpot. I think it’s admirable.”

  “Maybe.” Wally’s expression darkened, indicating Skye hadn’t won him over to her way of thinking. “But in last week’s paper, someone wrote that Baker had better mind his own business or he’d regret it.”

  “And now his wife is missing.” Skye frowned. “That’s not a good coincidence.”

  “No. And believe me, Baker was quick to point out that fact.” Wally tugged on his tie. “He’s one of those conspiracy theory nuts.” Wally looked at her sharply. “And don’t say that just because he’s paranoid, doesn’t mean someone isn’t after him.”

  “I won’t.” Skye blew out a breath.

  Wally couldn’t understand her fascination with doomsday and apocalyptical books and movies. But there was something about people starting over with nothing but their wits that reminded her of her own return to Scumble River. And after the tornado, they were even more interesting.

  “Look, this Baker guy comes off like a real fanatic.” Wally braked for a stop sign. “I want you there to help keep him calm enough to answer my questions without going off on some tangent.”

  “I’ll do my best.” Skye checked her Bulova chronograph diamond watch, a gift from Wally to celebrate the twins’ baptism. Although she usually stuck to her trusty Timex, when attending high-stakes meetings at school, she’d found the more successful she appeared, the more the parents respected her opinion. “But I need to be in my car driving to the elementary school no later than twelve thirty.”

  Wally glanced at the dashboard clock. “That gives us ninety minutes.” He took his turn at the four-way, then said, “Plenty of time.”

  A frisson went down Skye’s spine and she joked, “You better not have just jinxed us.”

  “Seriously?” Wally’s expression was wary. “You don’t mean that?”

  Skye shrugged and hid her smile. Wally used to tease her about being superstitious and believing in ghosts. However, their encounter with a fairy godmother who was in possession of facts she couldn’t possibly know had made him a lot less quick to spout off about Skye’s gullibility.

  Wally turned into a private drive, then braked. Bord du Lac was a restricted community and the entrance was blocked. The guard waved at them and quickly raised the gate arm. Wally drove along a narrow street and Skye glanced at the houses on either side of the road. All were adjacent to the small lakes that inspired the development’s name and had their own docks.

  Skye had never been inside the enclave before, and the houses weren’t quite what she was expecting. The words “private gated community” had her imagining large structures on spacious lots, but these were mostly modest modular homes packed tightly together.

  “Here we are.” Wally pulled into the driveway and gestured at the large ranch-style house. It sat on a double lot and had a detached two-car garage and shed.

&nb
sp; “Wow!” Skye gestured to the house and landscaping. “From what I’ve seen, this place is by far one of the nicest homes in Bord du Lac.”

  “I believe Baker pointed that out in several of his complaints against his neighbors that were published in the paper.” Wally parked next to a Scumble River squad car and behind a shiny black sedan. “He also bragged it was twice the price.”

  “So he’d probably have money for ransom if his wife was kidnapped.”

  “Or…” Wally got out of the cruiser, walked around the hood to Skye’s side, and opened her door. “People might think he does.”

  “True,” Skye agreed as they walked toward the house. “Is Mr. Baker expecting us?”

  “Yes.” Wally rang the bell. “I told him we’d be here within the hour.”

  Almost before he finished speaking, the door opened and a tall, thin, sixty-something man wearing crisply pressed khakis and a starched button-down shirt said, “It’s about time you got here.”

  “Mr. Baker,” Wally said, “I told you when to expect us and as you can see”—he pointed to the other squad car—“officers are already searching.”

  “Sure.” Stepping aside, Gerald said, “Come on in. And just to warn you, I am keeping a record of how this investigation is handled.”

  “So are we.” Wally crossed the threshold and gestured at Skye. “This is Skye Denison-Boyd, our department’s psych consultant.”

  “Nepotism at its finest,” the man grumbled under his breath, then held out his hand. “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Boyd. I’m not sure why a missing person requires a police psychologist, but I’ll reserve judgment.”

  “Where’s the best place for us to sit?” Wally asked, his tone neutral.

  “Let’s go into the great room.” Gerald led them across the foyer and down a short hallway. “I can keep an eye on the lake from there. I need to make sure that the residents and guests follow the rules.”

  He showed Wally and Skye into a spacious room decorated with military memorabilia and dominated by a large telescope. There were no throw pillows or curtains, and the coffee table’s top was completely empty.