Murder of a Sleeping Beauty

had in mind when she joined.

The officer opened the door a sliver, and she squeezed inside. Homer pounced on her as she popped through. Immediately, she wished she hadn’t tried so hard to get back to work.

“Good. You’re finally here. Where were you? The secretary at the grade school said you left twenty minutes ago.”

“I walked.”

“Bad time to take an afternoon stroll.” Homer dug his finger between his collar and neck. “We’ve got parents up the wazoo.”

“How did they get in, with all the police surrounding the place?”

“These are the ones that got here before we called the cops.”

“Oh.” Skye let the confusion show on her face. “And why did you have to call the police?”

“They were out of control. They wouldn’t sit quietly and take turns talking. Worst of all, they refused to move their cars from the bus lane.” The principal raised alarmed eyes. “The transportation director will kill me if I don’t get those vehicles out of the way.”

“I know this isn’t the time, but I’ve always wondered why everything in the school revolves around the buses. Is the bus company owned by the mob or something?”

Homer paled. “The superintendent has ordered us never to discuss the transportation contract.”

“Okaaay.” Skye lengthened the word and narrowed her eyes. Another mystery to look into sometime. “What’s your strategy?”

“Ah . . . that is . . . why don’t we go with your plan this time?”

She took a deep breath and counted to ten. Homer found it easy to criticize others, but he always froze the minute he had to take action himself. “It’s not even two yet, so we have more than ninety minutes before the buses arrive.” Skye paused to gather her thoughts. “Use the PA to do an all-call announcement, saying that any cars that are not parked in legal spots within the next ten minutes will be towed. Then call the mayor.”

At the look of apprehension on the principal’s face she changed her tack.

“Come to think of it, the best thing to do is call Charlie. Have him call the mayor and ask for the city tow truck.”

“That sounds good. How about the parents?”

“What are they here for?”

“You had me call them,” Homer answered.

“You called all of them?” Skye asked. “I only wanted you to call the half dozen or so parents of the students being questioned by the police.”

“That’s who I called. The rest came to support their friends and relatives, or in a panic over their own children, or out of morbid curiosity.”

“Is Chief Boyd still interviewing students?”

“Nope, he talked to four or five after you left, and a couple of faculty members, then left about an hour ago.”

She chewed her bottom lip. “Also announce that Wally and his officers have left the building, and that no students are currently being questioned by police. Ask everyone to leave unless they have urgent business with school personnel. Have them get a number from Opal, and tell them you and I will see them in order.”

Homer looked skeptical. “Why should they listen now? They haven’t been listening to me for the last couple of hours.”

“Two reasons. Their cars are about to be towed, and by using the number system, we pit them against each other. It’ll be competitive—who can get the best numbers.”

The principal didn’t look convinced, but he moved off to follow Skye’s directions.

Skye took a quick scan of the hall. No more parents. Good. She really needed to see some kids, but every time she ventured out of her office a parent grabbed her. She checked her watch. Damn. Only half an hour of school left. Which student should she talk to first? Who would know the identity of the girl she needed to see? Justin. For someone on the fringes, he seemed to know a lot about what the other kids were up to—if he’d talk.

She had Opal send for him and waited in the guidance office. It was beginning to feel like home. I wonder how I could get Homer to let me have this room permanently. She eyed the rows and rows of metal filing cabinets and the big old wooden desk. Coach has an office in the gym. He really doesn’t need two.

Justin walked in as Skye was admiring the comfy leather chair. As usual, he didn’t say anything.

Skye greeted him and asked him to sit. “Quite a day yesterday, huh?”

“Yeah.”

She was encouraged. At least he had verbalized an answer. “I noticed you stuck around the cafeteria this morning after most of the kids left. Were you close to Lorelei?”

He shrugged. “Nah. Better than going to class.”

“Do you know the girl who said she hated Lorelei?”

“Sure, that’s Frannie Ryan.”

Skye was surprised by Justin’s willingness to answer. Could it be that this incident had actually been good for him? Maybe it was helping him to be less self-absorbed. “So, are you okay about yesterday?”

Justin looked at her blankly.

“I mean about finding Lorelei like that, and talking to the police and everything.”

Another shrug. “No biggie.”

Skye waited to see if he would add anything. After several minutes, she said, “I guess you better go back to class before the bell rings, so you can get your books.”

Justin levered himself out of the chair. He put his hand on the doorknob and turned. “You know, Ms. Denison, one thing I figured out from yesterday is that even someone who seems perfect is probably more messed up than you’d think.”

Wow, Justin had spent time and effort thinking about someone other than himself. That was real progress. Before Skye could formulate a response he was out the door.

In a counseling session, the last few words as the client left the room were usually the most significant. Justin must have been referring to Lorelei. But how had Sleeping Beauty been messed up?

The bell rang as Skye was noting Justin’s statement in his file. She pulled her appointment book from her purse and flipped to the next day’s page. She penciled in Elvira Doozier at eight, followed by Frannie Ryan at nine, then added Zoe VanHorn, Troy Yates, Farrah Miles, and Caresse and Chase Wren. It would be a full day.

Skye stood and stretched. She needed to talk to the social workers the co-op had sent, debrief Trixie and Abby, and check to see when the body would be released. And if there was time, she also wanted to question Trixie about the cheerleader meeting Zoe had mentioned, and ask Kent about the Sleeping Beauty rehearsal.

She had set up the co-op social workers in the band room. She was impressed by their ingenuity. They had shoved most of the chairs and music stands into the center of the room, and arranged portable bulletin boards on either side, giving them each privacy.

“I see you guys are old hands at this.” Skye gestured to their construction.

The male social worker nodded. “Too much so. Seems like we’re called in to do crisis counseling more and more often.”

“We really appreciate your help.” Skye looked over to the woman to include her. “I’m here by myself.”

“No problem.” The woman picked up two sheets of yellow legal paper. “Here’s a list of who we saw, our impressions, and suggestions for follow-up.”

“Thanks. This is great.” Skye looked over the names, about twenty in all.

“You should send this out to these kids’ parents.” The man handed her a sheaf of photocopied forms. “It tells them we talked to their child. You can check one of the boxes on the bottom as to what, if any, follow-up is recommended.”

“I can’t thank you enough.” Skye was overwhelmed. It was so nice to have help, not to have to think of everything herself.