Murder of a Sleeping Beauty

“I never heard a thing about the bank. Are you sure?”

“That’s what the twins said.”

“That’s where all our money is. What should we do?” Suddenly May sounded weak and old.

“It’s okay, Mom. Even if Allen Ingels did steal a lot of cash, everyone’s money is secure. Remember the FDIC insurance?”

“Right.” May gave a relieved sigh. “Let me call Wally on the other line. You hang on.”

Skye could hear her mother lifting the receiver and talking. No fancy Muzak for the Scumble River police.

Finally, May came back. “He’ll be here in five.”

“See you soon, bye.”

Skye grabbed her purse and headed out the door.

The night was chilly. She had finally managed to get the top to stay up on the Bel Air, but the heat still didn’t work. Even so, she snuggled into the comfy seat and smiled. The car was growing on her, although she’d never get used to the fan club it attracted wherever she went.

Wally was waiting for her as she pulled into the police station’s parking lot. “What took you so long?”

“Traffic jam,” she answered with a straight face. By nine o’clock the Scumble River streets were empty.

“Very funny. So what’s this about Allen Ingels and the bank? And how did you happen to read a diary that Charlie found only this morning?”

“Can we go inside? I’m freezing.”

The chief opened the door and gestured her through. “Go up to my office. I’ll be right there.”

Skye waved to her mom on her way through, then lingered on the stairs, curious as to what Wally was up to. She heard him sending a patrol car to the Ingels’ to check for lights.

“Even if the lights are on, it doesn’t mean Allen and Lorna are there,” she said, as he entered and sat behind the desk.

A raised eyebrow was his reply.

“The housekeeper and Linette were there earlier this evening. One or both could still be there.”

“So, tell me everything. Start with the bank.” Wally hunched over a yellow pad.

Skye related what her cousins had said, then asked, “Didn’t Yates report this?”

“Nope, first I’m hearing about it.”

“Isn’t that odd?”

“Nope, bank would be afraid to say anything that could cause a run on the deposits.” Wally looked up and grinned. “ ’Course they’re pretty silly to think the tellers wouldn’t talk—especially your cousins.”

Skye shrugged, avoiding that slippery slope. “Do you think the missing money has anything to do with Lorelei’s murder?”

“Possibly. Now, tell me about the diary.”

Skye confessed everything, and waited for his wrath to descend.

Instead, he said in a mild voice, “You should have come to me last night when you first found the diary.”

“And what would you have done?”

“Read it.”

“Ah, but would you have let me read it?” Skye asked.

“If it contained something I thought you could explain or help with.”

Skye was silent.

“On the other hand, I will admit that we would probably never have found it without your snooping around.” The chief smiled slightly. “So, what’s your take on it?”

She explained her theory.

“That’s a lot of speculation and conjecture. Especially your idea that Lorelei didn’t know she was pregnant.”

“Believe me, a teenage girl would definitely mention something like that in her diary. Maybe in the outside world she’d act like nothing was happening, but she would pour her heart out on those pages.”

“Okay, that clears Troy, but Kent still has a motive.”

“What?”

“He was dating a student and could have lost his job.”

“No, see here’s the thing. He couldn’t care less about losing his job. His dad is making him work. He’d love to be fired and go home. His family is filthy rich. Which means no motive for him either.”

“Let’s say you’re right. Who does that leave?”

“I think I’ve eliminated Mrs. VanHorn and Zoe.”

He raised his eyebrow again.

Skye tried to remember when she had found that characteristic gesture sexy instead of annoying. She explained her visit to the VanHorns’ and the juice bottle.

“Again, who does that leave?”

“You’re not going to like this, but remember what Sherlock Holmes said? ‘When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.’ ”

“I’m waiting.”

“Okay, but listen to all my reasons before jumping down my throat.” Skye sat straighter. “I think it’s Mrs. Ingels.”

The chief was silent for a moment before saying, “Why?”

“The strongest evidence is the juice bottle. It’s a very rare brand and the label was peeled just like the housekeeper said Lorna Ingels did. Then there’s the diary. It clearly shows how controlling Lorna was, and how ticked she was at Lorelei for dropping out of the pageants and cheerleading and all the other stuff that was so important to the woman. That gives her motive and opportunity. She certainly had access to Lorelei’s diet pills, so that gives her means.” As Skye finished listing her case, it sounded measly even to her.

Wally rocked back in his chair and stared at the ceiling. “There’s just not enough evidence. A juice bottle with a peeled label and a mother who doesn’t like the fact that her daughter is gaining weight is not enough to arrest her on, let alone get a conviction.” He stared a while longer. “Even if her prints were on the bottle we found at the murder scene, and we find a bottle of the pills in her medicine cabinet, there could be a logical explanation.”

“So she gets away with it?”

“Unless we find some hard evidence.” Wally gave a dry laugh. “Or unless she confesses.”

“Maybe I could get her to confess. Unless, of course, she’s in Bolivia by now.”

“Not a good idea.”

“Do you have another plan?”

“No.” The chief stood. “But I do need to look into this bank matter, so if you’ll excuse me . . .”

Skye followed him down the stairs, waving to her mom on the way out.

Wally walked her to her car. “Go home, get some sleep.” He put his hand on her cheek. She felt the calluses in his rough palm. “Please don’t put yourself in danger.”

She swallowed a lump in her throat. “I won’t if you won’t.”

He leaned closer and pressed a soft kiss to her temple. “Let’s both be careful.”

CHAPTER 23

A Thing of Beauty Is a Toy Forever

At five the next morning, the phone woke Skye from a light doze. She had spent another restless night before finally falling asleep around four-thirty.

“Skye, you awake?”

She was too tired to come up with a smart remark to her mother’s dumb question. “Yeah, what’s up?”

May was whispering, which meant she was still at work. “Allen Ingels really has disappeared. Car’s gone, safety-deposit box cleaned out, and closet empty.”

“Wow! What about the rest of the family?”

“Lorna claims she doesn’t know a thing about it.” May’s voice got lower and more serious. “Looks like he took Linette, too.”

“Oh, my! Mrs. Ingels must be frantic.” Skye wondered if Allen knew his wife had killed their older child. Maybe