Read Online Murder of a Cranky Catnapper by Denise Swanson - Free Book Online Page B

inside and had either dozed off or was now in a catatonic state. Skye hoped it was the former because she wasn’t ready to deal with the latter.
    â€œWhile we wait, are you up to giving me some more details about what transpired thus far?” Wally asked.
    â€œOf course.” Skye took a deep breath. “I was walking into the high school when Dorothy called me on my cell. She wouldn’t tell me what was wrong, just begged me to come to Palmer Lynch’s house.”
    â€œWhere’s your car?” Wally asked, looking both ways down the block.
    â€œDorothy asked me to walk over, then she hung up and stopped answering her phone.” Skye shoved her hair behind her ear. “She was waiting for me when I arrived. She led me into the house via the patio doors and explained that Lynch had asked her to do an unscheduled cleaning job, but when she got here, he didn’t answer the door.”
    â€œBut she didn’t go away?” Wally crossed his arms. “Why in God’s name would she break into a house to clean it?” Skye opened her mouth, but he answered his own question. “Because she was on a tight schedule and didn’t want to disappoint either him or us.”
    â€œUh-huh.” Skye nodded. “But she didn’t really have to break in. According to Dorothy, she saw that the bar that Lynch normally kept in the sliding door trackswas leaning against the cupboard. She just wiggled the handle and was able to slide it open.”
    â€œSo it might not have been locked?” Wally ran his fingers through his short black hair, ruffling the silver strands at his temples.
    â€œThat was my thought.” Skye nodded. “When Dorothy led me down the hallway to the stairs, I saw that the front door’s chain guard was in place and figured the killer left through the sliders.”
    â€œDid she show you the body right away?” Wally had taken out a small pad from his uniform shirt pocket and was jotting down notes.
    â€œNo.” Skye’s teeth caught her lower lip and worked it for a moment. “Actually, it took what seemed like quite a few minutes to get to the point before Dorothy finally showed me Lynch. That was when I tried to call you, but she grabbed my cell.” Skye shook her head. “Dorothy wanted to put some clothes on him first.”
    â€œSince he was still buck-naked when I saw him, I take it you stopped her.” Wally’s dark brown eyes were warm.
    â€œYes.” Skye nodded again. “Lynch’s mother is a widow and is a friend of Dorothy’s from church. She didn’t want the poor woman to be subject to gossip. When Dorothy realized there was no avoiding the rumor mill, and that she would probably be tainted by the innuendos, too, she vomited in the trashcan. After she stopped being sick, I was finally able to get her out of the house, into her car, and I called you.” Skye puckered her brow. “Or at least, I tried to call you.”
    â€œYeah.” Wally rolled his eyes. “The mess at the station.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Shortly after you left for school, May phoned for me to come into the PD. The American Legion break-in has had me tied up ever since. Chantal was working late last night, and when the would-be thieves broke into the building, shelocked herself in a utility closet. By the time she came out this morning, she was nearly hysterical.”
    â€œShe sounded pretty calm when I talked to her.” Skye smoothed her black shirt over her baby bump. “I don’t think I know Chantal.”
    â€œShe’s new in town. She just started managing the Legion a few months ago.” Wally didn’t meet Skye’s gaze. “She’s a friend of Emmy Jones. They both belonged to the same dance studio in Chicago.”
    â€œI thought Emmy came here from Nevada.” Skye wasn’t sure how she felt about the gorgeous performer.
    â€œWho knows all the