Free Murder of a Royal Pain by Denise Swanson Page B

trilled after her, “Rehearsals are seven p.m. Wednesday and Thursday. On Friday, the dress rehearsal is at six and we open for business at seven. Please be prompt.”
     
    It was Friday afternoon, and Skye caught herself smiling as she sat at her desk, trying to whittle down the endless piles of paperwork that seemed to grow every time she left the room. Jackie was scheduled to be at the junior high for the rest of the day, and for once Skye had the office to herself. She thought of the Oscar Wilde quote, “Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go.” Clearly Jackie fell into the latter category, at least from Skye’s perspective.
    Another positive was that the haunted-house rehearsals had been less awful than she had feared. And, while she wasn’t looking forward to the opening that evening, her dread had diminished. She was one of a trio of identically dressed witches who would pop out at different locations in the haunted house, giving the impression that a single witch was disappearing and reappearing.
    The other two witches, Nina Miles, a parent whom Skye knew slightly, and Hope Kennedy, a teacher from the elementary school, were a lot of fun. Skye had been a bit embarrassed when their dresses had to be padded so all three of them would appear to be the same size, but neither Nina nor Hope had made a fuss. In fact, since they all appeared remarkably similar once they were in costume, they’d all had a good time fooling people. They even startled themselves—when one popped up unexpectedly on another, it was like looking in a mirror.
    A Ghoul’s Night Out was being held in an old white stone building on an isolated corner at the end of Basin Street. The American Legion had occupied it for years, but had recently built a brand-new hall outside of town. After scoping out the witches’ assigned spots, Skye had managed to obtain the one closest to the door that opened onto the hallway were the restrooms were located.
    Having done what she could to mitigate her anxiety, Skye had put the upcoming experience out of her mind. She was concentrating on a particularly difficult part of the report she was writing when her office door thumped open and Jackie and Justin strolled in, laughing.
    Her concentration broken, Skye blurted, “What are you doing here?”
    “Gee, I’m sorry. Did you need the room to yourself?” A creased formed between Jackie’s brows, but she quickly smoothed it out. “The parent didn’t show up for our appointment, so I figured I’d get some work done here. But I could go sit in the teachers’ lounge if it’s a problem.”
    “Oh. No. That’s okay. You’re welcome to stay.” Skye bit her lip. What else could she say—that she wanted to be alone? She’d sound like a poor imitation of Greta Garbo. Besides, it wasn’t as if she were testing a student and could demand that Jackie give her privacy.
    “Thanks.” Jackie turned to her companion, an enigmatic expression on her face. “Justin, tell Ms. Denison what you were telling me.”
    “Hi, Ms. D.” Justin pulled a chair up to Skye’s desk. “We were just talking about the history of the building that the Promfest haunted house is using.”
    “What about it?”
    “I was doing some research for an article for the Scoop , and it turns out the old American Legion hall is really haunted.” Justin paused for effect. “Or at least, some people claim it is.”
    “What do you think?” Skye asked cautiously, preferring to allow the students to come to their own conclusions.
    “All I know is that a lot of people have heard or seen something creepy there, but you know how rumors fly in this town.”
    Skye nodded and picked up her pen, not wanting to hear any more about the haunted building, especially right before she had to spend time alone in the dark there.
    “Justin, tell her the whole story,” Jackie urged. “It’s such a hoot.”
    “Well.” He looked a little uncomfortable, and nervously jiggled his foot.