Skye freed her hand and turned away. “Right.” So her grandmother’s murder was low priority. She’d have to do something about that.
Chief Boyd took her elbow as they walked toward the door. He swept away the yellow tape and unlocked the door. “We’ll have to be careful not to disturb anything more.”
Before either of them could react, Bingo rocketed past them and took off across the yard.
The chief started after the cat but Skye stopped him. “Never mind. You’ll never catch him. He’ll come back when he’s ready. In the meantime, let’s get his stuff.”
He led the way as they climbed the steps from the entryway into the kitchen. “Let me gather everything on the table and you take it from there. Probably any evidence that was in the kitchen was destroyed Monday night when your whole family was here, but I’d like to be cautious anyway.”
“Okay, I’ll need his bowls, which are there on the floor. And his food is in the pantry.”
Chief Boyd scooped up the things she pointed out and deposited them on the table. “What else?”
“His litter box is in the bathroom.” Skye fought a grin. “It might be a little smelly after three days, so you’d better dump it outside.”
When the chief returned from that task Skye continued, “Bingo’s carry case is in the closet in the next room.”
Chief Boyd went into the dining room. His face was grim when he returned with the Pet Taxi. “Come with me. Put your hands in your pockets and don’t touch anything.”
Skye frowned. “Why? What’s going on?”
He didn’t answer, just led the way.
Every room had been trashed. Drawers had been pulled out and emptied in the middle of the floor. The contents of the closets had been treated similarly. Even the cushions had been unzipped and the foam removed.
Chief Boyd stopped in the living room, which allowed them to see into almost all the rest of the house. “Was it like this the last time you were here?”
“No. You were here, too. You saw what it looked like when Simon took Grandma’s body away.”
“I just wanted to make sure.”
“Fine, but remember Mom handed you the key and we all left.”
“So how did the intruder get in?” Wally murmured, almost to himself.
Skye ran the layout of the house through her mind. “The basement. There’s a window down there that pops off.”
Wally looked at her questioningly. “What?”
“My grandfather’s family house was destroyed by a tornado when he was a young man. They hid in their basement and fortunately no one was killed. The unlucky thing was that they were trapped for days because all the basement windows were too small and they couldn’t get out.” Skye glanced at Wally to see if he was following her. “So, when they built this house they put in a special safety window. You press on two little tabs on the top and it comes right out. Originally it could only be opened from the inside, but years of wear and tear have made it easy to push in from the outside too.”
He led her back to the kitchen. “Stay here. I’ll check out the basement.”
She heard his footsteps as they ran down the stairs.
A few thuds, a couple of muffled curses, and he was back. “Looks like you were right. There’re some fresh marks in the dust by that window. I’ll make sure it’s examined for prints.” Wally looked around the kitchen. “I wonder why this room wasn’t searched.”
Skye grabbed on to that thought. “So, you think this was a search rather than vandalism. That would prove that Grandma didn’t just die in her sleep, wouldn’t it?”
“Probably. I think the autopsy will confirm it.”
“We’d better get this stuff in the car and find Bingo. I promised I’d be at work at ten.”
After dumping the cat supplies in the trunk of the Buick, they set out to find the feline. He could be hiding almost anywhere. The yard was more than two acres, with the, right half planted in rows of fruit trees.
There was a small front lawn, a long grassy side area, and an untended expanse in the back of the house. The chief took the right part and started searching among the trees. Skye first checked the front and side sections on the left. When there was no sign of Bingo, she unwillingly headed toward the back.
Here, the terrain was uneven and covered with tall weeds. She grimaced at her new cream-colored canvas sandals. There went thirty-eight dollars.
Calling, “Here Bingo, here kitty, kitty,” Skye trekked through the prairie grass, feeling it cut her bare ankles and calves.
Finally, she heard a yowl and spotted the cat just a few yards ahead of her. He was sitting by a round concrete slab with a cast-iron ring embedded in the middle. The cover, which was supposed to be flush to the ground, was slightly ajar.
As Skye approached, an odor stopped her. It was sickeningly sweet and smelled a little like the time her refrigerator broke down when she was gone for the weekend. She forced herself closer and grabbed Bingo, who protested the abrupt treatment by squirming and yowling.
Turning, she ran toward the orchard. “Wally, Wally! Come quick.”
Skye stopped at the Buick and retrieved the cat carrier from the trunk. She shoved Bingo inside and secured the door then continued toward the trees, calling for the chief.
He burst out of the grove with his hand on his gun. “Skye, are you all right?”
She stopped to catch her breath. “I’m fine.” Panting, she explained about the stench.
They retraced her path until they were a few feet from the concrete slab.
“Do you know what this is?” Chief Boyd asked.
“It may be the old well. We were never allowed to play back here because Grandma was always afraid we’d fall into it. I think they covered it when the great-grandchildren were born.”
Nodding, he tried to move the cover with his foot. It wouldn’t budge. “It would probably be easy to move using the metal handle, but until it’s been dusted for fingerprints I don’t want to touch it. Let me see what I’ve got in the squad car that I can lift it with.”
Skye trailed him back to his car, and while the chief got some tools and a big flashlight from the trunk, she fed Bingo. They returned to the well.
The chief inserted a jack handle into the opening. Skye watched the veins pop in his arms as he strained to move the lid. The muscles of his chest rippled under the khaki uniform shirt and his broad shoulders strained against the fabric. Without warning the concrete moved with a loud screech.
Immediately, the odor intensified and Skye backed away. Chief Boyd covered his mouth with a handkerchief and aimed the flashlight beam down the well. “It looks like a body is stuck about nine or ten feet down.” He turned to Skye. “Can you stand to look? Maybe you know who it is.”
She screwed up her face and shook her head, but finally moved closer. Putting her hand over her mouth and nose, she leaned forward and followed the stream of light with her eyes.
Stumbling back, Skye said, “I think it’s Mrs. Jankowski, the missing housekeeper.”
Chief Boyd had told Skye she could leave, but cautioned her not to tell anyone about their discovery. One part of her wanted to stay and see what the evidence people turned up, but mostly she was thankful she wouldn’t have to view the body as it was dragged from the well.
She stopped at her cottage to drop off Bingo and set up his equipment. When she opened his case in the foyer, he poked out a delicate pink nose and sniffed. Satisfied, he stepped all the way into the room and proceeded to investigate his new surroundings.
Meanwhile, Skye filled his food and water bowls, leaving them for him to discover when he reached the kitchen. She tucked his litter box under the sink in the small bathroom off the foyer, and immediately showed him its location.
Bingo instantly used the facilities.
“That’s what I forgot, Bingo, a litter scoop. I better make a list and get to the grocery store sometime today.” Skye walked to the kitchen and took a small pad of paper.
Glancing at her watch, she knew she’d never make it to school by ten and decided to take the rest of the day
