“Yeah.” Wally’s grin was sharklike. “I noticed the improvement right away.”
“I’m not kidding.” Skye bit her lip. “He’s usually a lot . . . uh . . . smoother, more unctuous. I wonder what brought about the change.”
“Maybe you can find out when you talk to him tomorrow.” Wally placed his palm on the small of her back. “Shall we?”
They entered the outer rink area, and Skye recognized most of the group milling around. Everyone who was anyone in town was present.
“Why are all these people here?” Skye wrinkled her brow and whispered to Wally. “Most of them seem to be doing more talking than skating.”
“Same reason we are.” Wally cupped her elbow, and they moved toward a man standing behind a counter. “To show support for a new business in town.”
“Funny they didn’t do that for Tales and Treats,” Skye muttered.
“Milton’s lived in Scumble River for the past seventeen years.” Wally raised an eyebrow. “You know how things work around here.”
Milton Leigh had short brown hair that resembled the growth on a Chia Pet. He was long and lean, with full lips framed by wrinkles. Skye couldn’t tell whether he was forty or fifty or maybe even older.
Wally shook hands with the skate center owner and said, “Milton, I don’t think you know my fiancee, Skye Denison. Skye, this is my old friend Milton Leigh.”
Skye shook hands and said, “The rink looks wonderful, Mr. Leigh.”
“Call me Milton.” His gray eyes were shrewd. “You must be the mayor’s niece.”
“Yes.” Skye stopped herself from making a face. “I must be.”
Milton was dressed in jeans and a cotton plaid shirt with pearl snaps. He reminded Skye of a 1960s Grand Ole Opry star, and she wondered whether he could sing.
He looked her over and said to Wally, “Big improvement over the last filly you hooked up with.”
Skye narrowed her eyes. She really didn’t like being compared to livestock, even if she was being awarded a blue ribbon.
“No offense intended.” Milton grinned at her sour expression. “You have to excuse an old cowboy.”
“Of course.” Skye changed the subject. “You’ve got a big crowd tonight.”
“Yep.” Milton nodded. “But these people aren’t my bread and butter. I bet you none of them will even lace on a pair of skates.”
“Oh? It’s nice that they’re here to support you, though, right?”
“Only a few, like your fella, are here for me.” Milton caressed his big silver belt buckle. “Most are like Hugo over there. He needs to keep his finger stirring the pot and riling everyone up. He’s really got a bee in his bonnet this time.” Milton shook his head. “Now, are you two going to skate or what?”
“Do you think he meant Hugo’s problem with Rise?” Skye asked Wally as they put on the roller skates Milton had handed them.
“Maybe.” Wally took Skye’s hand, and they glided into the rink. “Guess you better come up with a good reason to talk to Hugo tomorrow, because it’s a sure thing I wouldn’t get anywhere questioning him. He’d just call his daddy and complain about police harassment.”
CHAPTER 18
The Invisible Man
It was already nine thirty Thursday morning when Skye and Caroline Greer, the elementary school principal, walked into the main office. The Pupil Personnel Service meeting had gone more than an hour longer than usual because twin six-year-old boys with special needs had moved into the district the day before, and the staff had to hurry to prepare for their intake conferences.
Caroline and Skye were engrossed in discussing the complicated case when Fern Otte, the school secretary, thrust Skye aside and screeched, “Arnold Underwood is gone!”
“When was he last seen?” Caroline, a tiny woman with a cloud of white hair, was known for her unruffled demeanor and ability to keep her staff calm.
“When his class went to gym at eight forty.” Fern wrung her hands. She was extremely petite, and her affinity for brown clothing made her look like a wren. True to form, today she wore a taupe sweater and pants.
“PE class is only half an hour.” Caroline frowned. “Why didn’t you come and get me when his teacher first reported him missing?”
“She just this minute told me,” Fern mewled. “She didn’t realize Arnold was gone until the speech therapist came to get him for his session.”
“I see.” Caroline nodded, then directed, “Put out a PA announcement that any staff member who is not with children must report to the office immediately. As they come in, assign them to halls A and C, then the playground and parking lot, in that order. His room is in hallway B. I’ll be checking that corridor.” Next she focused on Skye. “You look in the gymnasium, kitchen, and stage.”
“Okay.” Skye headed out of the office but stopped to ask the principal, “Are you calling the police?”
“Not until we’ve conducted a thorough search.” Caroline’s tone was intractable.
“How about the boy’s parents?” Skye persisted.
“No need to worry them until we’re sure he’s really missing, and not just hiding somewhere. You know how ten-year-olds can be.”
Skye wasn’t sure what Caroline meant by that. Did she think all ten-year-olds were prone to disappearing? However, Skye was willing to follow the principal’s orders, at least until they’d searched the building and grounds. After that, if he was still unaccounted for, she would call 911 with or without the older woman’s blessing.
When Skye got to the gym, she found it empty except for an old-fashioned physician’s scale, a long Formica- topped table, and a chair. All three were positioned in the exact middle of the wooden floor. Except for those three items, the cavernous space was completely open, with nowhere for anyone to hide.
The elementary school didn’t have locker rooms, so after a quick glance around, Skye moved on to the storage area under the stage, which was padlocked. Making a mental note to get a key, Skye walked the perimeter of the empty platform. Once she was sure there were no hiding places, she parted the velvet curtains at the back and went through them. This spot had been converted to an office for the PE teacher.
There wasn’t anyone around, so Skye called out, “Yoo-hoo, anybody here?”
A soft rustle came from behind the stacks of athletic equipment, and Todd Grind, the gym teacher, poked his head around a tower of boxes. “Hey, Skye. What’s up? Another one of your SpEd kids needs babying?”
Skye fought to keep her expression neutral as she registered Todd’s use of the derogatory label. She reminded herself that he was as prickly as his brush-cut hairstyle. Still, she couldn’t allow a remark like that to go unchallenged. “Todd, the students receiving special education services are everyone’s responsibility.” Hoping to win him with an athletic metaphor, she said, “You know, a team effort.”
“A team effort is everyone doing what I tell them to.” Todd stuck his hands in the pockets of his warm-up jacket and shot Skye a cocky grin.
“Which is why I hate sports,” Skye muttered under her breath, then gave up trying to reform the PE teacher and explained about the missing boy. When she finished she asked, “Have you seen Arnold since that time?”
“What are you talking about?” Todd asked, then walked to his desk, flipped open an attendance book, and ran his finger down the page. “Porky wasn’t in class today.”
Skye started to remind him that she had asked the faculty not to call Arnold by that nickname and to discourage its use among his classmates, but she knew she’d be wasting her breath. Todd was surrounded by the Bozone—a substance that encircled clowns like him, stopping any intelligent suggestions from penetrating.
However, she would speak to Caroline once the boy was found. As far as she knew, everyone on the staff except Todd had complied with her request to use Arnold’s given name. But if the PE teacher didn’t stop, neither would the other kids, and Skye did not want the awful nickname following the poor kid to the junior high. If she didn’t nip it in the bud now, he’d be Porky for the rest of his life.
“Do you have the key to the storage area under the stage?” When Todd nodded, she asked, “Could you check and make sure he didn’t get in there somehow?”
“If it will make you happy,” the PE teacher sneered. “But Porky’s too lazy to have gone far.”
