Murder of a Royal Pain Read Online Free

anyone who would take the job. She hadn’t realized that hiring someone would mean sharing her office. Skye had wrested it away from the coach/guidance counselor only two years ago.
    Oops. She was being rude again, thinking instead of speaking. She hurriedly said, “Great. Well, then, I guess that’s it. Should I show Jackie around the elementary and junior high, too?”
    “Got me.” Homer put a hand on each of their backs and propelled them toward the door. “Ask Caroline and Neva.”
    Once they were out of the office area, Jackie said, “I take it Caroline and Neva are the other two principals?”
    “Yes. Didn’t you get to meet them at your interview?”
    “No.” Jackie chuckled. “I really didn’t have much of an interview. I faxed my résumé to the district last Tuesday, Dr. Wraige called me on Wednesday, I came in on Thursday, and he and Mr. Patukas offered me the job on the spot. They seemed a little surprised when I accepted.”
    “Wow. I guess they’ve been telling me the truth all these years. They really were trying to hire a social worker. Any idea why no one else wanted the job?”
    “Nope.” Jackie shrugged. “It was exactly what I was looking for.”
    “Oh?”
    “I needed to be closer to my mother. She lives in Clay Center. I moved to New York right after high school and have lived there ever since, but my father passed away recently and I’m an only child. So . . . ” She trailed off, gesturing her lack of choice with her hands.
    “I’m so sorry for your loss. Is your mother ill?” Skye asked as she guided Jackie down the hall.
    “No, just elderly and alone.”
    “Well, we can sure use you.” Skye motioned around her. “This wing holds the classrooms for all our fine and practical arts. The other two wings hold math and science, and English and history, respectively. And, of course, the special-ed rooms are all in the back.”
    “Why’s that?”
    “You know.” Skye made a sardonic face. “It just seems that principals like to keep those kids as far from the office as possible. Of course, our job is to make sure that although they might be out of sight, they aren’t out of mind.”
    “The special-ed students aren’t integrated into regular classes?”
    “Most of the day they are, but nearly all the kids have at least one or two periods in the special-ed room,” Skye explained. “And the ones with more severe challenges are there most of the day.”
    “I see.”
    After they had finished touring the school, Skye ushered Jackie into their office. She flicked on the light switch, illuminating a ten-by-ten room painted an unusual shade of yellow. Skye’s beat-up desk, a trapezoidal table, a few chairs, and a half dozen file cabinets occupied the meager space. There were no windows, and the overhead fluorescents cast a greenish light.
    Skye plopped down into her old leather chair and pushed aside the piles of papers and folders that were stacked a foot high on the desktop. She pointed to one of the two folding chairs facing her and said, “Welcome to your palatial office suite at Scumble River High. We’ll have to get the custodian to find a desk for you.”
    Jackie remained standing, her gaze slowly sweeping the small, crowded area. “Where would we put it?”
    “Maybe we can get some of these file cabinets moved. All but one is filled with guidance records that date back at least ten years, which means they should have been destroyed long ago.” Skye could read the other woman’s disappointment, and was a bit confused by it. She would expect a seasoned educator to be used to appalling conditions. Lack of space was a problem in most schools.
    Jackie nodded, a frown on her round face. “Where are the social work records?”
    Skye shrugged. “It’s been so long since we’ve had a social worker, there aren’t any separate records. I’ve been doing the histories and all the counseling, so everything is in one file.”
    Jackie finally sat down, her expression