“Start there. Go to their houses and places of work if you have to. Also finish interviewing the friends. I don’t want to take this idea to Muriel and Butch until it’s our only choice.”
“Are you sure you want us to do that? Interview the friends, I mean? Jennifer Blake was murdered only hours after she came in and spoke to us. If I were the other two women, I’d avoid us like the plague.”
“So then use your charm, Ronan. I’m sure you can get these ladies to spare you a little time.” Cisco waggled his eyebrows. “Same goes for the brother and sister. Work your magic on them.” He sighed, sounding as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders. “I don’t want to go back to the parents until we have all the facts, or at least a suspicion rooted in fact. And you,” Cisco pointed to Ten, “Try to get back in touch with Skye. We need her cooperation. Use every gun in your arsenal to get her to reveal her killer.”
Ten nodded. It wouldn’t be easy, but he would do his best.
25
Ronan
Ronan wasn’t a fan of stalking potential witnesses, but at the moment, it was working.
After lunch, he’d called the siblings and the two remaining friends and gotten voicemails four times over. Ronan decided it was time to take off the kid gloves and get some answers.
Heidi Lucas lived near Dead Horse Beach, just before the bridge to Beverly. She wasn’t as well off as Jennifer Baldwin Blake. The Mustang was parked outside a simple ranch house, worn with age. Ronan wasn’t psychic, but he had a feeling the woman who lived here was going to be in a similar condition. Older than her years and world-weary.
“Here she comes,” Ten whispered. A beat-up looking Oldsmobile turned into the driveway.
“Christ, that car has to be at least twenty. Oldsmobile went out of business in 2004. If that was the last year of cars to roll off the lot, then it’s sixteen years old.” Ronan shook his head. “It matches the state of the house.
“And the woman who owns it.” Ten pointed across the street at the paper-thin woman getting out of the car.
Ronan reached for the door handle. Ten setting a hand on his arm stopped him.
“Go easy, Ronan. She looks like she’s lived a rough life.” Empathy swam in Tennyson’s eyes.
Nodding, Ronan hopped out of the car. He heard Ten’s door open when he was on the other side of the street. “Miss Lucas?” Ronan called out.
The woman stopped dead in her tracks. Her already slumped shoulders dropped even lower. She slowly turned around to face Ronan.
“You’ve found me at last. Detective O’Mara, I presume?” Heidi Lucas sighed.
“Yes, ma’am. The chief of the Salem Police Department has asked us to take a look at the Skye Washington case. We only need a few minutes of your time.”
“You brought your psychic with you.” Heidi pointed past Ronan.
His gut churning with anger, Ronan managed a smile. He could hear Cisco’s voice in the back of his head telling him to use his charm. “This is my husband, Tennyson Grimm.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Heidi.” Ten wore his sappiest smile.
“I hope you both like cats,” Heidi mumbled. She walked up to the side door, and, using her key, unlocked it.
Ronan turned to Tennyson with alarm on his face. He liked Jude’s two cats, but he and Cope were diligent in cleaning up after them. He had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach there were more than two cats, and the inside of the house was going to be just as shabby as the outside.
“Come on, let’s go. You were the one who thought it would be a good idea to sit outside Heidi’s house and wait for her to come home.” Ten didn’t look eager to enter the house either.
“I’m starting to regret my choices.” Taking a deep breath, Ronan followed behind Heidi. He nearly gagged when he stepped into the small kitchen. There were cats everywhere. At least fifteen by his count, and the house had an overwhelming odor of cat piss. “Jesus Christ, take me now,” Ronan mumbled.
“Come in and sit down at the table. I’ll be with you after I feed these guys.” Heidi lit a cigarette, taking a long drag. Her hands steadied after the first puff.
As if the smell of hot cats and their leavings, mixed with cigarette smoke wasn’t bad enough, Heidi began opening cans of tuna fish. Ronan wasn’t going to survive.
Ten set a hand on his husband’s thigh. It was a silent message for him to hold on. Thank goodness he wasn’t allergic to cats, otherwise, this house would be the death of him.
“Would either of you like a cup of tea?” Heidi asked.
“No, thank you!” Ronan gushed. It was either that or start dry heaving again.
“Now that you’re here, what can I do for you?” Heidi’s bright-blue eyes moved back and forth between them.
Ronan wasn’t exactly sure how he wanted to approach Heidi. He’d originally planned to go at her hard for not returning his calls, but seeing this frail woman in front of him, he’d changed his mind. “My partners and I have been asked to look into Skye Washington’s murder.”
Heidi nodded. “That sweet girl. Not a day has gone by when I haven’t missed her.”
“What do you remember about the night she was killed?” Tennyson asked gently.
Heidi’s eyes slid shut. Ronan could see the tiny spider web of veins through her skin. She sighed before opening her eyes. “We’d gone out for hamburgers and a movie. Skye had the earliest curfew of all of us, so we made sure she was home on time, and then Jennifer dropped each of us off at home. We were all supposed to get together on Sunday, so I was surprised when Skye’s mother called me the next morning.”
“She was calling to ask where Skye was?” Ronan knew this part of the story already.
Heidi nodded. “We all joined in on the search to find her. That poor girl.” Heidi shook her head again.
“Do you have any idea who killed Skye?” Ronan asked. He had more to say when a tabby cat jumped onto his lap. He shrieked in surprise.
“Oh, don’t worry about Ginger. She’s the sweetest girl alive.” Heidi moved to grab the cat off Ronan’s lap when it swiped out with its front paw, striking Ronan’s cheek. “Naughty girl,” she admonished.
Ronan touched his hand to his face. It came away bloody. Jesus, was he going to get cat-scratch fever? The song started playing in his head.
“Now what were we talking about?” Heidi paused. “Oh, yes, who killed Skye.” She shrugged her thin shoulders. “I always wondered about Kyle Danner, Skye’s boyfriend. All of us girls were crazy about him at the time. After Skye died, he went to hell in a handbag.”
“I thought they were a true love match?” Tennyson asked gently.
Heidi cackled before starting to cough. It took a minute or two for Heidi to get her breath back. “Damn Virginia Slims got me. End-stage lung cancer.” She offered a thin smile as if to say she was going out on her own terms. “Kyle turned to booze and pills after Skye died, I started smoking. Tried everything I could to quit, but to be honest, I never really wanted to. I’m happy as a clam sitting here with my cats and my cigs. Got two months or so to live. I stopped the chemo and radiation. What the hell do I have to live for?”