and told me not to say anything.”
“If Mom was with you from the time I talked to her until Loretta appeared, how did Dad get there?”
“Mom used the phone in the interrogation room. Wally was so stunned by her actions I think she could have taken me home before he would have thought to object.” Vince grabbed a magazine from the stand and started pleating its pages.
“Why did they want to question you? What do you have to do with Mrs. Gumtree?”
“It’s a long story.” Vince looked embarrassed.
Skye looked at her watch. “Then you’d better get going.”
“Well, for starters, they found my styling shears in her neck.”
“How can they be sure they were yours?” Skye grabbed the magazine from his hands.
“They had the shop’s name engraved on them. But everybody in town gets their hair cut here. Anyone could have taken them without my noticing.”
“Wonderful.” Skye thought for a moment. “There must be something else.”
“In real life Mrs. Gumtree was Honey Adair. Her agent finally returned from his weekend trip and identified her late yesterday afternoon.”
When Skye looked puzzled, he explained, “I dated Honey in high school, the end of my senior year. Don’t you remember?”
“Now I do. She was really tiny—I was so jealous. The couple of times I was near her I felt like the Incredible Hulk. The name didn’t ring a bell because Mom and Dad only referred to her as ‘That Awful Girl.’ Why didn’t they like her?”
Vince shrugged. “Honey was pretty wild. She was involved with the druggies at school, and everyone said she slept around.”
“Did she? With you, I mean?”
“Oh, yeah.” Vince squirmed. “That’s a big part of the problem.”
“They suspect you because of an affair that took place sixteen years ago? Have you seen her since high school?” Skye was getting confused.
“She left town the day we graduated. I don’t think she’s ever been back.”
“Wait a minute. She lived with Uncle Charlie, didn’t she? I remember—she was his real niece.”
“Right. His youngest sister was her mother. Her parents were killed in a car crash the summer before her senior year, and she moved here from Chicago to live with him.” Vince began to fold the towels in the laundry basket next to the dryer.
“It was during that time that he told me to stop coming over to visit. I was really hurt,” Skye said in astonishment.
“He probably wanted to protect you from Honey’s bad influence.”
“Even so, with Mom and Dad being so close to Charlie, I’m surprised they didn’t at least try to pretend they liked Honey.”
“Honey made it difficult for people to ignore her bad qualities. Charlie had a real rough time that year. I think he was mortified by her behavior. All I could see was how pretty she was,” Vince said, looking off into the distance.
“Typical male. Thinking with your crotch instead of your brain.”
Vince punched Skye in the arm. She yelped and grabbed for his ponytail. She missed, lost her balance, bumped into a chair, and went sprawling on the floor. Brother and sister both broke into gales of laughter.
They eventually stopped giggling and Skye got back into the chair. “I still don’t understand why a high school romance makes you the prime suspect. Anyone who came into the salon could have stolen the scissors.”
“I haven’t told you the worst part.” Vince squatted in front of her. “The morning of our high school graduation Honey asked me to take her for a ride. When I picked her up, she told me she was pregnant and I was the father. All she wanted from me was enough money for an abortion and to get away from Scumble River. Honey hated this town. She said it was full of hicks.”
“What did you do?”
Vince glared. “What could I do? I went home, cleaned out my savings, and gave her the five hundred dollars. She promised not to tell Mom and Dad or Charlie, and I thought that would be the end of it.”
“It wasn’t, though,
“If Mom was with you from the time I talked to her until Loretta appeared, how did Dad get there?”
“Mom used the phone in the interrogation room. Wally was so stunned by her actions I think she could have taken me home before he would have thought to object.” Vince grabbed a magazine from the stand and started pleating its pages.
“Why did they want to question you? What do you have to do with Mrs. Gumtree?”
“It’s a long story.” Vince looked embarrassed.
Skye looked at her watch. “Then you’d better get going.”
“Well, for starters, they found my styling shears in her neck.”
“How can they be sure they were yours?” Skye grabbed the magazine from his hands.
“They had the shop’s name engraved on them. But everybody in town gets their hair cut here. Anyone could have taken them without my noticing.”
“Wonderful.” Skye thought for a moment. “There must be something else.”
“In real life Mrs. Gumtree was Honey Adair. Her agent finally returned from his weekend trip and identified her late yesterday afternoon.”
When Skye looked puzzled, he explained, “I dated Honey in high school, the end of my senior year. Don’t you remember?”
“Now I do. She was really tiny—I was so jealous. The couple of times I was near her I felt like the Incredible Hulk. The name didn’t ring a bell because Mom and Dad only referred to her as ‘That Awful Girl.’ Why didn’t they like her?”
Vince shrugged. “Honey was pretty wild. She was involved with the druggies at school, and everyone said she slept around.”
“Did she? With you, I mean?”
“Oh, yeah.” Vince squirmed. “That’s a big part of the problem.”
“They suspect you because of an affair that took place sixteen years ago? Have you seen her since high school?” Skye was getting confused.
“She left town the day we graduated. I don’t think she’s ever been back.”
“Wait a minute. She lived with Uncle Charlie, didn’t she? I remember—she was his real niece.”
“Right. His youngest sister was her mother. Her parents were killed in a car crash the summer before her senior year, and she moved here from Chicago to live with him.” Vince began to fold the towels in the laundry basket next to the dryer.
“It was during that time that he told me to stop coming over to visit. I was really hurt,” Skye said in astonishment.
“He probably wanted to protect you from Honey’s bad influence.”
“Even so, with Mom and Dad being so close to Charlie, I’m surprised they didn’t at least try to pretend they liked Honey.”
“Honey made it difficult for people to ignore her bad qualities. Charlie had a real rough time that year. I think he was mortified by her behavior. All I could see was how pretty she was,” Vince said, looking off into the distance.
“Typical male. Thinking with your crotch instead of your brain.”
Vince punched Skye in the arm. She yelped and grabbed for his ponytail. She missed, lost her balance, bumped into a chair, and went sprawling on the floor. Brother and sister both broke into gales of laughter.
They eventually stopped giggling and Skye got back into the chair. “I still don’t understand why a high school romance makes you the prime suspect. Anyone who came into the salon could have stolen the scissors.”
“I haven’t told you the worst part.” Vince squatted in front of her. “The morning of our high school graduation Honey asked me to take her for a ride. When I picked her up, she told me she was pregnant and I was the father. All she wanted from me was enough money for an abortion and to get away from Scumble River. Honey hated this town. She said it was full of hicks.”
“What did you do?”
Vince glared. “What could I do? I went home, cleaned out my savings, and gave her the five hundred dollars. She promised not to tell Mom and Dad or Charlie, and I thought that would be the end of it.”
“It wasn’t, though,
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