Murder of a Small-Town Honey

They found the bedroom and bath in similar shape. Charlie appeared to be in shock, all of his seventy years ev-

ident in his face. He sank down on the bed and buried his head in his hands.

Even as Skye dialed the police, she knew she shouldn't have touched the telephone. But no fingerprints had been found in Mrs. Gumtree's trailer, according to her mother's report, and she certainly wasn't leaving Charlie there alone while she located another phone.

Chief Boyd and Officer Quirk arrived with sirens blar­ing and lights flashing. Skye and Charlie were hustled out of the cabin. They climbed into Skye's car. Charlie sat with his head leaning against the back of the seat. Skye battled her conscience. One part of her wanted to leave Charlie alone, while another part of her said this was the perfect time to get information.

The practical side won. 'Mom's really worried about Vince being arrested for Honey's murder.'

Without opening his eyes, Charlie said, 'So am I. Honey always did manage to stir things up. I guess now she's doing it from the grave.'

'I know this isn't the time, but would you mind telling me about Honey? I only remember her a little.'

Rubbing his eyes with his knuckles, Charlie straight­ened. 'It isn't all that strange that you hardly remember her. To begin with, Honey was completely selfish and had no interest in other females. At fourteen you probably didn't even exist to her. Also, your parents and I agreed that she wasn't someone we'd have wanted you to have as a role model. You may have run into her only once or twice.'

'But if Vince dated her, wouldn't P have seen her more often?'

'Vince kept his relationship with Honey pretty quiet. Your parents and I didn't find out about it until the end.'

Turning toward Charlie, Skye sat with one knee tucked under her, and her arm along the back of the seat. 'How did she end up in Scumble River?'

'Honey's mother was my younger sister. There were only the two of us left from my family, so when she and her husband were killed in an auto accident there was nowhere else for Honey to go. Her father had no family at all.'

'Is it true she was uncontrollable? Was that a reaction to her parents' deaths?'

Charlie shook his head. 'No, as a matter of fact, her par­ents were looking into a military-type boarding school for Honey the day they were killed.'

'Do you remember the details of their accident?'

'Their brakes failed, and they were hit by a tractor-trailer truck.'

Skye whistled. 'How awful. I'm sure that losing her par­ents in such a dreadful way contributed to her problems here.'

'Maybe, but Honey wouldn't talk to the therapist I took her to, and her behavior when she lived with me sounded just like her mother had described it.'

'People have said she was ... ah, sexually active. Do you know the names of her partners?' Skye couldn't meet his eyes.

Charlie's face turned red. 'No. Back then things like that were kept more quiet.' Charlie hesitated. 'Honey did spend a lot of time with Mike Young. I suspected she was getting drugs from him.'

'Interesting. Can you think of anyone else she spent time with?'

'No, when she first got here she behaved pretty good for the first couple of months. She got on the Softball team and spent a lot of time at practices and games, which kept her out of trouble. Then, about Thanksgiving, she hooked up with Mike, and after that she seemed to run through a bunch of boys, one after the other. She started with Vince around Valentine's Day, and her behavior improved again.'

'Did Honey tell you she was leaving?' Noticing the

sweat on Charlie's brow, Skye leaned across him and opened the window.

'No. I came home after the graduation ceremony, and all her things were gone. She took my car and all the petty cash, about two hundred dollars.'

'Did you call the police?'

He looked away. 'No. I was glad she was gone. It seemed a cheap price to pay, two hundred bucks and an old clunker, to get my peaceful life back.'

Skye patted him on the arm. 'You just tell me to mind my own business if I'm getting too personal here or there's something you don't want to answer.' She waited, but when Charlie didn't say anything she went on. 'Where did Honey go to school before she moved here?'

'Bogart? No, Bogan High School on the south side of Chicago.'

'What do you know about her more recent life?'

Charlie kneaded the fingers of one hand with the other. 'Only what her agent told me when she called. Honey owned a condo on the Gold Coast in the Raven Building. She spent most of her time either taping her TV show or out on the road promoting it. The agent said Honey didn't seem to have any friends and work was her life.'

'That's pretty sad. Will her agent be coming down for the funeral?'

'Yeah. I'm supposed to call her once the arrangements are made. She said Honey's producer and publicist will be coming too.'

Having covered everything but the inheritance, Skye found her resolve faltering. She decided to take the plunge before Chief Boyd or Officer Quirk came to talk to them and ruined the moment. Charlie might not be so forthcom­ing tomorrow when the shock wore off.

'Chief Boyd mentioned that you were Honey's benefi­ciary. Were you surprised?'

Charlie gripped Skye's knee so hard that it frightened her. 'You have to believe me, I hadn't seen or talked to Honey since the day she left here. I can't imagine why she left me her money. My gut feeling says that that money is going to bring me nothing but pain and heartache.'

CHAPTER 12

A Taste of Honey

Chief Boyd finally allowed Skye to go home, just before midnight. He questioned her and Charlie separately, making each wait while he talked to the other. When the county sheriff's technicians were finished, he also insisted that Charlie go through the cabin and make a list of every­thing that had been taken. Charlie wasn't missing a single thing.

The phone started ringing the next morning at five-thirty. Skye was having a nightmare about police cars, so the shrilling of the phone merged into the sirens of her dreams, and it took her some time to understand what was going on.

'Hello?' she mumbled, still not fully awake.

Her mother said anxiously, 'Where were you last night? I tried to reach you until almost midnight.'

At the sound of May's voice Skye sat up and swung her feet to the floor. 'When I got to Charlie's, his cabin had been vandalized. The police kept me until nearly twelve o'clock.'

'Oh, my God! Are you all right? Is Charlie okay?' May's voice cracked.

'We're fine. No one was home when it happened. Noth­ing was missing, but Charlie's pretty upset.'

'I'll bake him a pie this morning and go visiting this af­ternoon.'

'That sounds good. He probably needs help cleaning up, too. I'll stop after work and do that,' Skye said.

'You just concentrate on your new job and clearing Vince. I'll clean up at Charlie's. It won't take long, his place is so small.'

'Okay, Mom, but don't overdo.' Skye waited for a reply. 'Do you hear me?'

'Yes, I hear you. Just remember I'm not an old lady yet.' With that pronouncement May returned to her original purpose in calling. 'So, did you find out anything from Charlie?'

'You called me at five-thirty in the morning to ask me that?'

'I wanted to catch you before you left for school. Tonight I'm working the three-to-eleven shift, so if you need any information, let me know.'

Skye itched to remind May, once again, that she didn't have to be at school until seven-thirty, but realizing that her mom only heard what she wanted to hear, she said instead, 'Let me think about it. I'll call you back in half an hour.'

After showering and making herself a cup of tea, Skye sat and thought about what she'd learned from Charlie last night. Mm, Honey was in trouble before she got to Scumble River, which makes it safe to assume