“Everything is in a Bypass Trust, so she really didn’t have a will.”

Skye grabbed a pad of paper and a pen from a kitchen drawer. “What’s a Bypass Trust?”

“Grandpa put everything into a trust, so Grandma wouldn’t have to pay inheritance tax when he died. After his death, all income from the estate was paid to Grandma, but the property itself is jointly owned by me, my sisters, and brother.”

Skye sat down and made a note of that on her tablet. “Okay, so you’re saying that Grandma didn’t own the estate anymore, but she received the profits from the farm.”

“Right.”

“But although you guys own the property, it wasn’t worth much to you as long as Grandma was alive.”

“Right.”

Skye tapped the pen on the table. “Then who is the trustee?”

“Your Uncle Dante.”

“Shit.”

“Watch your language, young lady.”

Standing up, Skye moved toward the wall phone. “Could you call Uncle Dante and see if it’s okay for me to pick up Bingo? If not, find out who’s taking care of him and when they’re going to do it. I’ll call Wally and clear things on that end.”

Dante awarded Skye “temporary” custody of the cat, pending a valuation by an expert. He didn’t seem aware that a used cat was a liability, not an asset. Wally had agreed to meet her at her grandmother’s at eight to supervise the removal of the feline and his equipment.

Before leaving for her grandmother’s, Skye called the school to tell them she’d be late. She was scheduled to be at the elementary school in the morning, but had no appointments, so she left a message for the principal that she’d be there around ten.

It felt strange pulling into her grandmother’s driveway after Monday’s events. She steered the car as close to the back door as the concrete apron allowed. Her usual parking spot up by the garage now gave her the creeps. The dilapidated wooden building seemed to exude animosity.

Although it was hot sitting in the closed car, Skye was reluctant to get out or even roll down the windows.

Come on, it must be eighty degrees already, either open the windows or get out. It’s silly to sit in this oven just because you’re scared. Her thoughts were interrupted by Chief Boyd’s squad car pulling up next to hers.

Skye hopped out of the Buick and smoothed the skirt of her denim dress. “Thanks for coming out here, Wally. Sorry to bother you.”

“Glad to be of service. I was going to come out here today anyway. I like to take a look-see before anyone else starts in on a crime scene.”

“You mean no one has even searched the house yet?” Skye tilted her head up and stared at him. “It’s been over thirty-six hours since I found her.”

“We borrow the crime-scene technician from the sheriff’s department and unfortunately, Stanley County has had several serious crimes in the past few days. The First National Bank in Laurel was robbed Monday night and Judge Fitzwater shot his wife on Tuesday. So since we are not absolutely certain your grandmother was murdered, we received a low priority. The tech should finally be over this morning.”

“I see.” Skye’s brows drew together. “It’s not so much whether my grandmother was murdered or not, it’s who’s got the most clout in the area.”

Wally shrugged. “The bank needed to be able to reopen for business and no one wanted to mess up a case involving a judge. That’s how the world works.”

“I know; I just don’t like it.”

“The other thing is, since the body was removed and you and your family wandered all over the house, the scene’s already been compromised. There’s not much hope in finding much in the way of evidence at this point.” Wally took her hand. “Not that we won’t try, but a few hours’ delay just isn’t that important.”

Skye freed her hand and turned away. “Right.” So her grandmother’s murder was low priority. She’d have to do something about that.

Chief Boyd took her elbow as they walked toward the door. He swept away the yellow tape and unlocked the door. “We’ll have to be careful not to disturb anything more.”

Before either of them could react, Bingo rocketed past them and took off across the yard.

The chief started after the cat but Skye stopped him. “Never mind. You’ll never catch him. He’ll come back when he’s ready. In the meantime, let’s get his stuff.”

He led the way as they climbed the steps from the entryway into the kitchen. “Let me gather everything on the table and you take it from there. Probably any evidence that was in the kitchen was destroyed Monday night when your whole family was here, but I’d like to be cautious anyway.”

“Okay, I’ll need his bowls, which are there on the floor. And his food is in the pantry.”

Chief Boyd scooped up the things she pointed out and deposited them on the table. “What else?”

“His litter box is in the bathroom.” Skye fought a grin. “It might be a little smelly after three days, so you’d better dump it outside.”

When the chief returned from that task Skye continued, “Bingo’s carry case is in the closet in the next room.”

Chief Boyd went into the dining room. His face was grim when he returned with the Pet Taxi. “Come with me. Put your hands in your pockets and don’t touch anything.”

Skye frowned. “Why? What’s going on?”

He didn’t answer, just led the way.

Every room had been trashed. Drawers had been pulled out and emptied in the middle of the floor. The contents of the closets had been treated similarly. Even the cushions had been unzipped and the foam removed.

Chief Boyd stopped in the living room, which allowed them to see into almost all the rest of the house. “Was it like this the last time you were here?”

“No. You were here, too. You saw what it looked like when Simon took Grandma’s body away.”

“I just wanted to make sure.”

“Fine, but remember Mom handed you the key and we all left.”

“So how did the intruder get in?” Wally murmured, almost to himself.

Skye ran the layout of the house through her mind. “The basement. There’s a window down there that pops off.”

Wally looked at her questioningly. “What?”

“My grandfather’s family house was destroyed by a tornado when he was a young man. They hid in their basement and fortunately no one was killed. The unlucky thing was that they were trapped for days because all the basement windows were too small and they couldn’t get out.” Skye glanced at Wally to see if he was following her. “So, when they built this house they put in a special safety window. You press on two little tabs on the top and it comes right out. Originally it could only be opened from the inside, but years of wear and tear have made it easy to push in from the outside too.”

He led her back to the kitchen. “Stay here. I’ll check out the basement.”

She heard his footsteps as they ran down the stairs.

A few thuds, a couple of muffled curses, and he was back. “Looks like you were right. There’re some fresh marks in the dust by that window. I’ll make sure it’s examined for prints.” Wally looked around the kitchen. “I wonder why this room wasn’t searched.”

Skye grabbed on to that thought. “So, you think this was a search rather than vandalism. That would prove that Grandma didn’t just die in her sleep, wouldn’t it?”

“Probably. I think the autopsy will confirm it.”

“We’d better get this stuff in the car and find Bingo. I promised I’d be at work at ten.”

After dumping the cat supplies in the trunk of the Buick, they set out to find the feline. He could be hiding almost anywhere. The yard was more than two acres, with the, right half planted in rows of fruit trees.

There was a small front lawn, a long grassy side area, and an untended expanse in the back of the house. The chief took the right part and started searching among the trees. Skye first checked the front and side sections on the left. When there was no sign of Bingo, she unwillingly headed toward the back.