Murder of a Chocolate-Covered Cherry by Denise Swanson

finally gave up and went back to dressing. It took her only a few minutes to finish. She slipped on black patent-leather sling-backs, brushed some bronzer on her face and mascara on her lashes, combed her hair into a smooth pageboy, and stuffed her jewelry into her evening bag to put on later.
    Skye looked at her watch as she descended the stairs. It was a few minutes past seven and she hadn’t heard a doorbell. Unless the teens had let Wally in before he had even rung the bell, he was late, which wasn’t at all like him.
    What could be keeping him? Perhaps if she had been able to hear him when he phoned she would know.

CHAPTER 6

Cream, Sugar and Butter
    S kye listened in exasperation to Wally’s message on her answering machine. “Skye, sugar, what’s wrong with your phone? I sure hope you get this. I’m really sorry, but I’ve had an emergency come up and I can’t take you to the dinner.” There was a pause and she could hear a muffled voice in the background; then Wally said, “I’ll call you tomorrow morning before you leave for the contest.” There was silence, but she could tell he hadn’t hung up; then he added, “Oh, I almost forgot to tell you, my cell phone’s not working. Bye.”
    “Damn!” Now what was she supposed to do? Skye wished Trixie hadn’t gone away for spring break. Come to think of it Trixie had a knack for being away when things at school imploded.
    Skye’s head felt as if it were about to fly off her shoulders. Did Wally’s emergency involve Ashley’s disappearance? Clearly he hadn’t gotten either of her earlier messages. Should she go to the police station? Should she go to the dinner? Or maybe she’d go to bed and let everyone deal with their own problems. “Shit! Shit! Shit!”
    Justin had sidled into the parlor without Skye noticing. “Uh, Ms. D, are you okay?”
    “I’m fine.” She took a deep breath and forced herself to smile calmly. “Just a little frustrated.”
    Frannie edged in and stood next to Justin, taking his hand. “Are you mad because Chief Boyd broke your date?”
    “No.” Skye sank into the sofa, feeling strangely like crying. “I’m upset because I’m not sure what to do.”
    “You’ll think of something,” Frannie soothed. “Take a deep breath.”
    Skye looked at the girl and realized that Frannie had come a long way since she first met her over two years ago. Back then Frannie had been insecure and obsessed with her own problems. Now, as Skye looked into the teen’s confident and caring brown eyes, she saw the woman Frannie would become.
    “You’re right.” Skye inhaled and instantly felt a bit calmer. “Thank you.”
    “So, what are we going to do?” Justin paced in front of the settee. “If Xenia kills Ashley, the superintendent will get rid of the paper for sure.”
    Skye fought a flicker of irritation at Justin’s self-absorption, reminding herself that he was almost a year younger than his girlfriend, and had had a much harder life.
    While Frannie had a loving and supportive father, Justin had pretty much raised himself. Mr. Boward was in nearly constant pain and lived from day to day, which had caused Justin’s mother to sink further into a depression that rarely allowed her to leave the house.
    “There’s not a lot I can do until I can reach the chief,” Skye said, and stood up. “Maybe the emergency he was talking about was Ashley’s disappearance.” She turned to Frannie. “When you talked to Mrs. Yates, did you get the impression she was going to call the police?”
    “No. Probably not after I made up the story about the cheerleaders having a slumber party.”
    “Shoot. I had forgotten about that.” Skye scooped up the cordless phone and strode into the kitchen. “So she won’t be expecting Ashley until sometime tomorrow?”
    Frannie nodded.
    “Okay. First I’ll call the police station and see if Ashleyor Xenia has been reported missing. I doubt Xenia’s mom will involve the cops, considering her