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Skye’s heart pounded. This certainly put a whole new light on things! Since neither of her aunts had appeared pregnant in the photo and they had been gone for only a month, her grandmother must have been referring to an abortion. So who had the abortion, Mi
Skye grabbed the phone and called the hospital. She was in luck. Mi
After polite chitchat Skye got to the point. “Ah, Aunt Mi
“Sure,” Mi
“But you were all right?”
“Sure.” Mi
“I’ll see if I can find them,” Skye promised. “Thanks, Aunt Mi
So Mona had had the abortion. Did that mean she had killed Antonia? After all these years, why would she kill her mother? If it wasn’t to gain something, what else was accomplished by her death?
The family history. Killing her stopped Antonia from talking about the past and thus revealing Mona’s abortion. Would her aunt kill to keep that secret?
Skye thought about her aunt and uncle’s marriage, about his position in the Knights of Columbus. Mona might kill to protect that.
Skye suddenly leaped from the couch. She reached for the phone and dialed. No one answered at her parents’ house.
She swore in frustration. She had to talk this over with someone. What if she was wrong? She tried Charlie and Trixie. No one was home.
Great, I guess I’ll have to talk to Wally. Probably should have been my first choice anyway, but he’s still so mad at me about going to the survivalist camp. Oh, well, this isn’t something I can put off.
Skye reached once again for the phone, but this time there was no dial tone. She looked out the kitchen window, but the storm had worsened and she couldn’t see more than a few feet ahead.
Shit, I suppose the electricity will be next. I’d better store some water just in case. Electrical outages in Scumble River had been known to last a long time.
After she filled the bathtub, she’d change and drive in to see Wally. Might as well get the whole thing over with. Damn, he’d be really pissed about the whole incident with the Chicago police.
Skye walked into her bathroom and leaned over the tub. Before she could straighten she felt something poke her in the back. She gasped and whirled around.
A steel barrel stared her in the face. The person holding it said, “Stand up slowly with your hands in the air.”
CHAPTER 23
Nine, Ten, Round the Bend
“ow did you get in here?” Skye asked. “I’m sure I locked all the doors.”
“I borrowed the key from your mother’s purse,” Mona answered. “I’ll slip it back in before she notices it’s gone.”
“What do you want?” Skye stared at the gun Mona held in her right hand.
“You’ve figured it out, haven’t you?” Mona prodded Skye through the bedroom and into the living room.
Skye sat down hard on the sofa. “Figured out what? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t pull that i
“I’ve suspected everybody.” Skye’s hand closed over a pen wedged between the couch cushions. It wasn’t much of a weapon, but it was the only one available.
“Quit lying.” Mona gestured to the patio doors. “I’ve been watching you through the window, and I saw you jump up and run to the telephone.”
“Then you know I’ve already called the police.” Skye looked her aunt in the eye.
“I don’t think so. Your first inclination would be to call your mother, and I know she’s getting her hair done. Charlie isn’t home either. And I cut the wire pretty quickly, so I’ll have to take the chance you didn’t tell anyone.” Mona’s voice was firm.
“If I can figure it out, so can someone else.” Skye inched to the edge of the seat, palming the pen.
“No. You have knowledge others wouldn’t have. With Nurse Pry
Skye searched her memory, trying to think of something to say to change her aunt’s mind. “Aunt Mi
“I didn’t try to kill Mi
“Why do I need a dress?”
Mona ignored Skye’s question as she walked her into the bedroom and opened the closet.
“I still don’t understand why you’re willing to kill rather than have people know that you had an abortion as a teenager.” Skye took off her shorts and T-shirt and slipped on the dress Mona handed her. “That is why you killed your own mother, isn’t it? Because you were afraid Grandma would tell me about your abortion when she got to that point in the family history.”
“You have no idea what I’ve been through. I begged Mom not to tell anyone, but her memory was getting so bad for the present, and seemed to be getting clearer for the past. I couldn’t chance it.” Mona stared at Skye. “She just wouldn’t cooperate. I asked her for the family Bible. I knew she would have made some note of the baby. But she said she didn’t know where it was. I asked for the pictures Mi
Skye opened her mouth to ask a question, but Mona continued with her own train of thought. “There was always someone at the farm so I never got a chance to look for the Bible or pictures when Mom was alive. And I needed to get to Joliet the day I brought her the brownies. She took longer to die than I expected, and the housekeeper’s death was an unexpected complication, so I had to go back and search after you all left that night. I was so afraid Neal would wake up and find me gone that I had to rush. You had already made the police suspicious so at least I didn’t have to be neat.” Mona smiled coldly. “Good thing we live close by. It was easy keeping an eye on who went to the farm after Mom died. I could sit in my living room and watch out the picture window. And when I couldn’t be there I set up my video camera.”
“So that’s how you knew I had the Bible and the pictures. You saw me go by that night, then snuck over to the farm and watched me.” Skye visually searched the room for a better weapon than the pen she had slipped into her pocket.
“Right.” Mona stared vacantly for a moment. “Let’s see, is there anything else we need here?”
Skye glanced at her te
“Neal would leave me if he found out. He’d be ruined in the community. How could he go on being the Grand Knight of the KC if this information got out?” Mona scrubbed her eyes with her fist. “Give me your keys. We’re going to church.”