“You know, I was just looking for my folks. Maybe we could chat later.”
“This will only take a few moments.” Mona’s voice was lined with steel.
Sighing, Skye complied with her aunt’s demand. “Yes, Father? Uncle Neal?”
A pained expression crossed the priest’s face. “Skye, it really could wait, but I’m afraid your aunt and uncle are quite persuasive.”
“Yes, they are.”
“It’s about you joining the church’s Young Advocates group.”
“I’ve never heard of them.”
Father Burns’ opened his mouth to explain further, but before he could speak a voice screamed, echoing across the dining area. “Help! Help! Mom’s dying.”
CHAPTER 16
See, Saw, May’s Law
Stunned silence filled the church hall. Ginger appeared at the entrance of the banquet room, crying, and Father Burns headed toward her. As Skye ran after the priest, she yelled to Neal, “Call 911.”
Mona followed Skye toward the ladies’ room, but edged in front of her at the door. Skye stepped over the threshold just in time to see Mona shove Gillian aside and bend over Minnie’s body.
Water dripped from the pipe under the sink, making the gray tile floor appear slimy. The smell of ammonia and mold was overpowering. Minnie lay facedown with her arms over her head but bent at the elbow. Her flowered dress had crept up, revealing a white slip and gartered hose. Small blue pills were strewn near her head and hands.
Skye tried to kneel beside her aunt. “I’ve had first aid training; let me take a look.”
Mona thrust her away. “Haven’t you done enough? This is all your fault.”
“Huh?” Skye rocked back on her heels, nearly falling. “What are you talking about?”
“If you hadn’t been grilling Mona yesterday, she wouldn’t have tried to kill herself today.”
Gillian shouldered her aunt aside. “What are you saying? Mom didn’t try to commit suicide.”
Mona put an arm around her niece and pointed with the other hand. “See those pills?”
All three women stared at the tiny blue tablets scattered near Minnie’s hand.
Skye parked the Buick outside the police station, but made no move to get out of the vehicle. Pictures of Minnie lying on the bathroom floor played in an endless loop in her head. Even her morning swim hadn’t been able to distract her from that memory. Intellectually she knew that no one could cause another person to kill herself. But emotionally, she was having difficulty believing it. And even if she wasn’t the cause, she should have been able to see how desperately unhappy her aunt was, and insisted that she get help.
She finally forced herself out of the car and went into the building. The portable radio on a shelf behind May’s head blared out a baseball game. When Skye entered, the sportscaster was announcing the score: “Cubs 2, Brewers 11.”
May’s shoulders sagged and she turned the volume down.
To her mother’s back Skye said, “You know, Mom, rooting for the Cubs is like rooting for Bangladesh in a food fight.”
“I told you not to come here.” May didn’t turn around or react to Skye’s joke.
“Don’t be mad, Mom. I really need to talk to you.” Skye reached to buzz herself past the locked door.
“Stop that.” May slapped her hand away from the button. “Go home and quit causing trouble. I’m not mad. I’m hurt that you could think those awful things about my brother and sisters.”
“I’m sorry.” Skye tried once again to release the door lock.
“Fine, go home and mind your own business.” May kept a wary eye on the latch.
“I can’t. I can’t let the killer get away with it. Is that what you want?”
“Maybe.” A tear rolled down May’s cheek. “Remember, we are talking about my brother and sisters. Remember how you felt last year when Vince was accused of murder.”
“I am sorry, Mom.” Skye tried to hug her but the counter between them was too wide.
Wiping away the drop, May said, “Then quit bothering everyone. Let Wally handle the investigation.”
“He’s happy I’m helping.”
“Wally can figure it out without you.” May paused to answer a call, then continued. “He seemed real excited when he got the toxicology results this morning.”
“Oh?” Skye hoped her mother would elaborate.
“Yeah, seems they figured out what the poison was.” May made a note in the log.
“And?” Skye tried to keep her voice even.
“Well, he didn’t tell me what it was.”
“But you peeked at the report, didn’t you?” Skye tried to sound as if she didn’t care about the answer.
“I might have noticed something when I was doing some other filing.”
“So?”
“Something like ‘jack trophy kirk’s ass.’ I can’t pronounce it.”
“Why did it take so long to find out the type of poison? The autopsy has been done for days.”
“It has something to do with how many kinds of poisons there are to check for, how long the tests themselves take, and how much of a priority our sample is—” May was interrupted once again by the phone.
Skye took the opportunity presented by May’s distraction to make a note of the toxin so she could try to look it up at the library later.
May hung up and turned back to Skye. “That was Gillian. The doctors have decided to keep Minnie in the hospital for a while.”
“But I thought she was okay after they pumped her stomach last night.”
“Minnie refuses to admit she took the pills. She says she did not try to commit suicide. So they’re keeping her for psychiatric observation.” May uttered the last two words with great difficulty.
The women were silent for a while. The only noise in the station was the static of the radios.
Finally, Skye said, “You know, Mom, it’s possible Aunt Minnie killed Grandma, and then couldn’t stand the guilt, so she tried to kill herself.”
Tears overflowed May’s eyes. “I’m afraid that’s what everyone is going to think, but I just can’t picture Minnie being able to do it.”
“I know what you mean. She’s usually so indecisive. But if she’s emotionally disturbed, who knows what she’s capable of doing?” Skye handed her mother a tissue.
“Going through the change has been real rough on her, ’cause she won’t take the medicine her doctor gave her. I’ve been begging her to at least take the capsules to help her sleep, but she refuses to take anything at all.” May paused, then added softly, “I guess she took those sleeping pills yesterday though.”
“The twins told me she didn’t want to take drugs.” Skye’s face took on a faraway expression.
“What are you thinking?” May asked. “You look as confused as a cow on AstroTurf.”
“If she wouldn’t take hormones for her menopausal symptoms, would she take pills to commit suicide?”
May stood up. “No. She’s always hated taking medicine. She usually wouldn’t even fill the prescriptions.”
“Mom, this could mean that Aunt Minnie is telling the truth. Maybe she didn’t try to kill herself. Maybe someone tried to kill her.”
“Who would want to kill Minnie?” May sat back down.
“The same person who murdered Grandma. The real killer could be trying to throw suspicion on Minnie.” Skye was scribbling furiously in her notebook. “Call Wally right now. He’s got to get Aunt Minnie some protection, or the next time she might not make it.”
Skye and May sat across from the police chief in the combination coffee and interrogation room. Both women had told their stories, and he was now asking questions.
“Let me get this straight. You think Minnie did not attempt suicide? Instead you think someone tried to kill her?”
“Well, either tried to kill her or make her look like Grandma’s murderer.” Skye flipped open her notebook. “I’ve tried to put my reasons in order.”
