Murder of a Sleeping Beauty (33 page)

Not a good sign. Skye was already wrong about one thing. The woman wasn’t dressed, and she doubted Lorna had been up yet.
Shit!

“Mrs. Ingels, I don’t know if you remember me. I’m Skye Denison, the psychologist from the school.”

The woman turned and walked away, leaving the door ajar. Before following, Skye thumbed up the button in the knob, disengaging the lock.

As Skye trailed Lorna across the foyer, she noted that the woman had continued to go downhill since the last time she had seen her. Today her blond hair hung in hanks, with one side flattened. Her skin seemed to have coarsened, showing large pores, discoloration, and wrinkles. She was dressed in a stained floor-length bathrobe, with bare feet peeking from beneath the hem. Skye felt a momentary twinge of sympathy. If Lorna had killed her daughter, clearly she was suffering for it.

Lorna shuffled into the library and curled up in a wing-back chair. She finally spoke. “What do you want?”

“Ah, I was wondering if I could do anything to help you.”

The woman glared. “Can you bring back my daughter . . . daughters?”

“No, but perhaps I can help you locate Linette. Do you have any idea where her father might have taken her?” Skye reached into her purse and clicked on the tape recorder.

“No.” The word was whispered so low Skye wasn’t sure she had heard it.

Skye perched on the coffee table, which brought her knee to knee with Lorna. She took the other woman’s hand, “Do you know why he would take Linette and leave?”

Lorna jerked her hand away and grabbed a nearby wineglass. “No, why would I?” She gazed into the red liquid as if she would find the answer there.

“Could it have to do with what happened to Lorelei?” Skye persisted gently.

“No.” The woman shook her head wildly.

“Maybe Mr. Ingels thinks he’s protecting Linette by taking her away.”

Lorna’s head snapped up, and she narrowed her eyes, her whole body stiffening. “Why would you say that?”

The swift change in Lorna was a bit frightening. Skye stood to put some distance between them. “Ah, it’s really warm in here. All right if I let in a little air?” Without waiting for an answer, Skye moved toward the window and lifted it several inches.

Lorna’s mouth tightened. “I didn’t say you could do that.”

“Sorry, thought I was going to faint for a minute there. Can’t stand being hot.”

“You’d better leave now.” Lorna rose, finger-combed her hair, and straightened her robe, seeming to notice the large red wine stain near the waist for the first time.

Skye forced herself to go on. “I know this is hard for you to hear, hard for you to think about, but I found Lorelei’s diary. I know what you did.”

“Where? How? You can’t!” Lorna flung herself toward Skye. “I don’t believe you.”

Skye took a hasty step back, but Lorna had grabbed her wrist in a clawlike hold. “The diary was in a gap between the wall and her cheerleader locker. It tells everything,” Skye said.

“You had no right to read that.” Anger seemed to revitalize Lorna.

“Maybe not, but the police do have a right.”

Lorna’s flushed cheeks paled. “The police?”

“Yes, they’ll probably be here to arrest you at any minute. I just thought maybe you’d feel better if you talked about it. I can’t imagine what it would be like to kill my own daughter. It must be tearing you apart inside.” Skye felt a little queasy, as if she were pulling off the legs of an insect. But Wally said that they needed a confession, and it wouldn’t be fair to Lorelei if her death went unsolved.

“I never meant any of this to happen.” Lorna wilted again, releasing Skye’s hand. “A month ago I had a successful husband, two beautiful daughters, and a life that everyone in Scumble River envied.” She was silent for a moment before continuing, “You know, you can do something in an instant that will give you heartache for a lifetime.”

“Sounds like you were living a fairy tale. What made things go wrong?”

“It was all Lorelei’s fault.” Lorna sank into the love seat, facing away from Skye.

Skye was forced to move away from the door to see her face. “Lorelei’s fault?”

“She was a beautiful girl. And so smart and talented. She had everything. Sometimes I even thought she might be psychic.”

Skye blinked.
Psychic? Please.
“Sounds like she had it made.”

Lorna nodded eagerly. “That’s right. And was she happy? No. I made sure she had the most beautiful clothes. And for the pageants, she never had to wear a costume twice. I did everything to ensure she’d win. She could have been Miss America, but she wanted to throw it all away. I couldn’t let her do that.”

“How could you stop her?”

“I talked her out of quitting cheerleading and the play, and made her promise to do one last pageant.” Lorna gazed feverishly at Skye. “I figured if she won Miss Central Illinois, she’d see how important it was to go on, but she made sure she’d never get that crown.”

“By gaining weight?”

“Yes, she just kept eating. I knew that if I didn’t do something right away, she’d end up as fat as you. She wanted to eat three meals a day, for godsake. And she’d hardly exercise anymore. She was down to only three times a week at the gym. But that wasn’t the worst part.”

Skye overlooked the personal insult and guessed, “Lorelei stopped taking the diet pills?”

“Yes.” Lorna shook her head. “She got so fat. She went from a size two to a size eight in a matter of three or four months. None of her clothes or costumes fit. It was a nightmare. And she still wouldn’t take the pills.”

“It must have been hard to watch.” Skye hoped she wouldn’t gag on the words she was forcing out of her mouth. “So, you just had to do something to stop her.”

“To help her. I did it to help her.” Lorna suddenly lunged forward and grabbed Skye by the shoulders. “You’ve got to make sure everyone knows I only did it to help her.”

“Help her?” Skye tried to back away, but the woman was stronger than she looked, and her nails were digging into Skye’s flesh.

“Yes, I started slipping the diet pills into her food, but the dose she had been on before wasn’t working.” Lorna’s hands tightened on Skye’s shoulders.

“Lorelei didn’t know you were feeding her diet pills?”

“No, of course not, she wouldn’t have taken them if she knew.”

Skye tried to edge toward the door. “Oh, I see. So what happened?”

“I kept giving her higher and higher dosages. Then that Wednesday I was going to be away all afternoon and evening, and I was afraid she’d really binge if she didn’t get her pills.”

“How often did you feed her those pills?”

“Three times a day. Anyway, where was I? Oh, yes, so I took a bottle of her favorite juice and added a handful of crushed pills. After I met with the other cheerleaders’ mothers that morning, I found Lorelei and gave the drink to her. She loved that juice, and usually I didn’t let her have it since it was three hundred calories a bottle, so I knew she’d drink every drop.”

“Then you went out of town so you’d have an alibi.”

“What did I need an alibi for?” Lorna let go of Skye and looked confused. “I went to get my hair done.”

“An alibi for the murder of your daughter.”

“I didn’t murder Lorelei. Why would I want to kill my own daughter? It was an accident. I just wanted her to stay beautiful.”

“But you killed her.” The words slipped out before Skye could stop them. And judging from the look on Lorna’s face, they were a mistake.

Without warning the woman lunged and wrapped her hands around Skye’s throat. Both women toppled to the floor. Skye tore at the other woman’s hands, panicking at the sensation of not being able to breathe. It took her a moment to realize that Lorna was about half her size, and by flipping the smaller woman on her back, Skye easily pinned her to the ground, using her weight as leverage.

Lorna let go of Skye’s throat and started pounding on her chest. “You cow, get off me.”

Skye wished she had an extra hand to slap the hysterical woman. Instead she shouted, “Oh, my, look at the time.”

“What? Are you crazy? How can I look at the time with you on top of me?” The woman struggled. “You’re breaking my back. I’m going to sue, you fat cow.”

Skye ignored Lorna’s curses and threats. She had a bigger problem. What to do? Vince must not have heard her. For now, Lorna was secure, but if Skye got up off her, the woman would either run or attack again. They were at a stalemate.

Before Skye could formulate a plan, the front door slammed open, and Vince ran into the room saying, “Skye, something’s wrong with Mom. I heard a scream on the walkie-talkie and now I can’t get a response. You run for Charlie. I’m going out back to see what’s—” He stopped abruptly, staring.

Lorna grew still, and her demeanor changed instantly. “Vince, darling, your sister has gone crazy. She’s hurting me. Please help.”

Vince frowned and flicked a look at Skye.

She made a face. “Vince, get something to tie her up with.”

He looked around. “What?”

Her mind worked frantically. “The electrical cords on the lamps.”

Lorna yelped, “Don’t touch those lamps. They’re originals by Tiffany.”

Vince ignored her, ran to the nearest end table, and yanked the wire from the base, returning with the cord. Even though she fought him, he easily secured Lorna’s ankles, and then repeated the procedure for her wrists. As soon as he was finished, Skye jumped up and between them they tied Lorna to the desk chair with the sash from her robe.

Within minutes, Vince and Skye were running toward the cemetery. They arrived at the end of the Ingelses’ property at the same time. Vince had longer legs and was in better shape, but Skye was still jazzed with adrenaline from her wrestling match with Lorna. A few inches in front of them the graveyard began.

Skye paused, listening. Which direction? Sounds of scuffling indicated the way. She slowed down, picking her way carefully among the plaques and grass-covered mounds. Vince followed silently. As they advanced, Skye began to hear voices and she slowed further, going from headstone to headstone, crouching behind the granite markers.

A huge gray marble slab with a teardrop shape cut out of the top allowed her to stand upright and peek through it without being seen.

May was sitting on a flat headstone, and Allen Ingels held a pistol pointed at her head. May was speaking. “You never answered me. What did you do with my money?”

Allen looked a wreck. His hair was in disarray, allowing his bald spot to show through. The knee of his suit had been torn, and the lining of his jacket hung beneath the hem. He wiped a soiled hand across his eyes, leaving dirt on his cheeks. “Shut up. I’ve got to think. What am I going to do with you?”

“Give me back my money.” May cocked her head. “It’s not right what you did to this town.”

“You’re forcing me to shoot you,” Allen gritted out from between clenched teeth. “You’re just like Lorna and Linette—totally selfish. If that little brat hadn’t insisted she had to have her crown, we could be in Mexico by now.”

“Why did you take her then?”

He looked puzzled. “I couldn’t leave her with Lorna. Not after she told me last night about ‘accidentally’ killing Lorelei with those damn diet pills of hers. She’d already started Linette on them. What was I supposed to do, wait for another ‘accident’?”

May reached out as if to pat his arm, but he stepped back, out of contact. “Save your pity. Linette and I will be just fine as soon as I take care of you.”

May clasped her knees. “Why did you do this, Allen? You had money. You didn’t need ours.”

His laugh was raw. “That’s what everyone thinks, but when the bank was sold last year, the new company cut my salary in half right away. We couldn’t live on that amount.”

“But your family has had money, what about that?”

“With a wife and kids like mine, that money was gone long ago. We live from paycheck to paycheck.” Allen’s voice was dazed.

“Look, why don’t you just turn yourself in? I’m sure Wally will see that things go okay for you, especially if you give back the money.”

Allen clutched his head with both hands, momentarily directing the pistol away from May. “Shut up! You’re driving me crazy!”

As soon as Allen’s aim drifted from May’s head, Skye signaled Vince and they darted forward.

But before they could cover the uneven ground, Wally stepped out from behind a small group of trees and leveled his gun at Allen. “Drop it.”

Allen stared at the police chief for what seemed an interminable second before he let his weapon fall to the ground.

Officer Quirk and a couple of county deputies emerged from their cover in the foliage. They handcuffed Ingels.

“You might want to pick up Lorna Ingels too, ” Skye said. “She’s in the house, tied to a desk chair in the library.”

Wally shook his head. “What have you done now?”

Skye explained about the confrontation and handed over the tape recorder containing Lorna’s confession.

“Okay, men, take Mr. Ingels away, and while you’re in the neighborhood, pick up his wife.”

Skye heard one of the officers reading Allen Ingels his rights as they walked away.

Vince and Skye had been standing with their arms around May. Now, they all spoke at once.

Vince gave May a hard squeeze. “I was so worried.” Skye patted her mother’s back. “How could you say those things to him?”

May looked them both over, and said, “What took you two so long?”

After a few minutes, Vince led May away. Skye turned to Wally, who had been leaning against a tree trunk, silently observing. “How did you end up out here? Were you following Allen?” she asked.

“Nope. I was following you.” He straightened. “What did you expect after our last conversation? I knew you’d go after Mrs. Ingels.”

“You didn’t have to do that. I had my own backup.”