Kent was concerned, and nabbed him as he tried to follow her into the interrogation section.
As he was escorted away, he yelled, “Tell the kids they don’t have to say anything.”
She yelled back, “I’ll take care of the students; you tell Homer to start calling their parents.”
Wally was speaking as she entered the kitchen. “We’re just trying to figure out what happened to your friend. There’s no need to be afraid.” He leaned casually against the counter.
The blonde sitting at the aqua Formica kitchen table did not look frightened. The girl’s cold blue eyes sparkled with disdain as she turned them toward Skye. “You’re that shrink that talked to us this morning.”
Skye nodded. “I’m Ms. Denison, the school psychologist. And you’re Zoe VanHorn, Lorelei’s best friend.”
“Right on the first try.” Zoe examined her long purple nails. “I don’t have to talk to the cops, correct?”
Before Skye could answer, Wally moved from the counter to her side and ordered in a low voice, “Get out.”
“No.” Skye wrinkled her brow. Darn, this whole business was so much harder with Wally still mad at her. Maybe he was right. Maybe she had betrayed his trust by investigating alone last summer, but she had apologized repeatedly. What more could she do to make things right between them? She had never dreamed he would be this hurt.
Wally took her arm and tried to lead her away.
She refused to budge. “Have you called Zoe’s parents?”
Wally released his grip. “Get out, or I’ll have you removed by force.”
“A school representative must be present if a minor is to be interrogated without a parent in attendance.”
“That’s not the law.”
“No? Well, it’s in the school handbook, which I’m obligated to follow, and the school attorney has advised us to handle things this way.” Good thing she had actually read the manual when she was first hired.
“Tough. Get out.” Wally turned his back on her.
Zoe waved her hand. “I want her to stay.”
“No.” Wally’s face was beginning to turn red.
The teen shrugged. “Then I want a lawyer.”
Wally’s face went from cherry to maroon. “Have a seat, Ms. Denison.”
“Thank you, Chief Boyd.” Skye settled herself in a chrome kitchen chair and studied Wally. Once his face had returned to its natural tan hue, he was a handsome man. He had recently turned forty, but except for a few gray threads in his curly black hair, and a couple of lines radiating from his brown eyes, there were few signs of his age.
Skye shook her head. She had been half in love with him since she was fifteen. When she first met him he was fresh out of the police academy. Everyone liked him, especially the teens. He was fair and honest with them. She had developed a huge crush on the young officer, and he had handled it kindly without ever embarrassing her or taking advantage of the situation.
In the ensuing years she had moved away, he had gotten married, she had moved back, and they had become friends. But last summer she had destroyed that friendship by going behind his back. That betrayal, and his wife’s leaving him for another man, had changed Wally. Skye kept hoping it was a temporary situation and that he would return to his old self, given enough time.
Skye suddenly noticed that both the chief and the teen were staring at her, waiting for her to speak. “So, what were you and Zoe discussing?”
“I had asked Zoe to tell me a little about Lorelei’s movements yesterday.”
The girl ran her fingers through her short curls and wet her already-glossy lips. “Let’s see. It was pretty much same old, same old.”
Wally drew up a chair and sat opposite the females. “Start at the beginning. When was the first time you saw Lorelei yesterday?”
“I picked her up at her house around seven, and we buzzed the gut for a half hour or so.”
Wally and Skye’s eyes met. “Buzzing the gut” was what the teens called driving down Basin Street, Scumble River’s main drag, and circling back by cutting through the McDonald’s parking lot on one end and Mayor Clapp’s used-car lot on the other. It was also called “shooting the loop,” and it was technically illegal, although that law was not often enforced.
Skye spoke, earning a glare from Wally. “What did you girls talk about?”
“Stuff.” Her bony shoulders under a tight-ribbed sweater moved up and down. “You know, whose clothes are so ‘last year,’ who’s a trendoid wannabe, who was slipping who the tongue at the party last night.”
“Did you pick up anyone else?”
“Well, no, I drive a Miata.” Zoe looked at the adults, who appeared clueless. “No backseat.”
“Nice wheels,” Skye murmured. It was pretty pathetic that a teenager owned the car that she could only dream of buying. It was clear that Skye had taken a wrong turn somewhere on life’s highway.
“Yeah, right.” Wally tried to regain control of the interview. “So you arrived at school at approximately seven-thirty, but classes don’t start until eight.”
“We had a cheerleader meeting.” Zoe bent down and adjusted the ankle strap on her black sandals.
“Who was there?” Wally asked, taking out his notebook.
Skye itched to do the same.
“Mrs. Frayne, me, Lorelei, Caresse, and Farrah. Tara was on vacation, and we’re down a girl since DiDi moved away. That’s what the meeting was about. Picking a new Black Widow.”
“What the he—ck is a Black Widow?” Wally asked.
Zoe rolled her eyes. “The name of the cheerleading squad, of course. The baseball and football teams are the Scorpions, so we’re the Black Widows. Get it?”
The chief nodded wearily. “What are the other girls’ last names?”
“Farrah Miles and Caresse Wren.”
“Next, you went to your first-period class, right?”
The teen nodded. “We have all our classes together.”
“Lorelei wasn’t out of your sight all day?” The chief frowned.
“Well, except for seventh and eighth hour.”
“What happened during those periods?”
“Since there was no PE, and Lorelei and Chase had back-to-back study hall, Mr. Walker called a rehearsal for
“You aren’t in the play?” Skye’s question earned her another scowl from the chief.
“Of course I am.” A tiny line appeared between the teen’s perfect eyebrows. “But Lorelei and Chase were the leads.”
“What is Chase’s last name?” Wally slid back his chair.
“Wren. He’s Caresse’s twin.” Zoe spread another coat of scarlet gloss on her lips.
Wally looked at Skye. “Ms. Denison, is Mr. Walker the disappearing teacher you dragged me over to meet yesterday?”
“Yes.” Skye thought a moment. There was someone missing. “How about Troy Yates? I thought he was her boyfriend. Wasn’t she with him at all yesterday?”
Zoe shrugged. “Probably. Who knows?”
The chief nodded thoughtfully as the three sat in silence.
Finally, Zoe asked, “Is everything Crystal Light-clear now?”
Wally didn’t look up from his notebook. “Clear as mud.”
CHAPTER 5
Mind Your Ps and Clues
After Zoe left, Wally said to Skye, “She didn’t seem overly grief-stricken, did she?” “One of the first stages of grief is denial. Maybe it hasn’t hit her yet. So many adolescents have no concept of mortality.” Skye felt she had to support the girl, but in her heart she agreed with the chief. Zoe had not come across as sad.
