Murder of the Cat's Meow by Denise Swanson

Author:Denise Swanson [Swanson, Denise]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Mystery
ISBN: 9780451237811
Google: c8PjWiCtJrwC
Barnesnoble:
Goodreads: 16064501
Publisher: Obsidian
Published: 2011-12-31T13:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 14

Busier Than a One-eyed Cat Watching Two Mouse Holes

Skye wasn’t scheduled to be at the high school at all on Wednesdays or Thursdays—a fact that Homer tended to conveniently overlook. When things were running smoothly, he resented giving up any space or budget for her needs. But the minute a tricky situation reared its ugly head, he felt that she should devote all her time and energy to his school.

Unfortunately, as a school psychologist assigned to multiple schools, Skye was often put in the awkward position of reminding all the principals that she wasn’t their full-time employee. And as she stepped over the threshold of the elementary school’s office Wednesday morning, she sensed that today would be one of those days when she was needed everywhere at once, with everyone thinking his or her crisis was the most pressing.

Caroline Greer was standing between Mrs. Canetti and Mrs. Hinich, the mothers of two of Skye’s social-skills group counselees. The principal was trying to keep the two women apart, while they were engrossed in a heated discussion involving loud voices, mean faces, and wild gesticulations.

As soon as Caroline spotted Skye, she abandoned her arbitration attempts and hurried over to her. The office was crowded with teachers signing in, chatting with each other, and watching Mrs. Canetti and Mrs. Hinich argue, but the principal pulled Skye to a semi-secluded area.

Once out of earshot, Caroline said in a low voice, “Help me get these parents into my office.” She glanced worriedly back at the two antagonists. “I don’t want to do this in public.”

“What’s up?” Skye kept a wary eye on the women, who continued their bickering.

“We have a major problem,” Caroline said over her shoulder as she darted over to Mrs. Canetti, who was jabbing her finger in Mrs. Hinich’s chest. The principal gripped the woman’s arm just above the elbow, and motioned with her chin for Skye to take charge of the other mother.

Skye moved into place and waited for instructions.

“Ladies, let’s sit down in private, have some coffee, and talk this over,” Caroline suggested, tugging on Mrs. Canetti’s arm until the much larger woman gave in and began to move. “I’m sure we can come to an agreement that will be in the best interest of both children.”

Shooing Mrs. Hinich toward the principal’s office, Skye passed Fern Otte, the school secretary, who handed her a sheaf of small pink pieces of paper. Fern was a small-boned woman who dressed in shades of brown and flapped her arms as if she was about to fly away. That, along with her tendency to sound as if she were cheeping when she spoke, had earned her the nickname Tweets. Not that anyone was cruel enough to call the fragile woman that to her face, but sometimes it was hard not to slip up.

While Caroline poured coffee for everyone, Skye glanced through the while-you-were-out memos. Most of them were from Homer, each succeeding one more agitated than the last. In short, he commanded her to drop everything and report to the high school immediately to deal with the Pass Out game girls.

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