I take it with me? Every piece of evidence is crucial.” Ronan was going to have a kitten when he found out the cops hadn’t studied the journal. “I promise to return it.”
“Sure, take it. Skye hid it in an orange shoebox in the back of the closet. I knew it was there, but never read it, either before or after her death.”
“I promise to take the utmost care of it. Would you mind bringing me a Ziplock bag for it in a few minutes?” Ten needed some time to spend alone in the room. He couldn’t help wondering what other potential evidence the police had deemed unimportant.
“I’ll give you some time before bringing it up.” Muriel paused at the top of the stairs. “If you speak to her, please tell Skye how much we love and miss her.”
“I will,” Ten promised. He didn’t want to give the grieving mother false hope by telling her Skye already knew. It was possible she didn’t, or had long ago forgotten.
Ten stayed just outside the room until he heard Muriel reach the bottom of the stairs. He took a deep breath and a step forward. The beige walls were plastered with posters of New Kids on the Block, Kip Winger, and Jon Bon Jovi. The twin bed, which was pushed against the window overlooking the back deck, was covered with a light-pink comforter, stuffed animals piled high against the pillows.
Ten took a look out the window. The roof over the porch was about a foot drop from the window, but it was deeply slanted. If Skye had tried to get out of the house this way, she would have slid down and crashed to the ground below. Ten didn’t need to use his gift to see the open window had nothing to do with a jailbreak. If he were a betting man, he’d guess the window had been opened a crack so Skye could exhale cigarette or pot smoke out the window without her parents being the wiser.
The desk was white, the top covered with makeup and notebooks. On the left side of the desk was a three-panel electric mirror. The user would be able to see the left and right sides of their face while looking forward. Ten pressed the button and the lights surrounding the glass turned on. In his mind’s eye, he could see Skye sitting here putting on her makeup and singing along with the radio.
“Skye? Are you here?” Ten shut off the mirror and did a full turn around the room. “My name is Tennyson Grimm. I’m a medium and can hear you if you’d like to speak with me.” Ten didn’t feel Skye’s spirit in the room, but like he’d told Muriel, it didn’t mean she wasn’t here.
“My husband and our detective friends are going to do everything we can to find your killer. If there’s anything you can do to help us out, we’d love to hear from you.” Ten’s words were met with more silence.
He walked to the double closet which sported shuttered doors. Ten pulled the middle knob and the doors folded backward. All of Skye’s clothes were hung neatly. Right in front of him was the purple button-down she’d worn in the school picture. Overcome with emotion, he took a step back.
Muriel hadn’t been kidding when she said this room hadn’t changed since the day Skye was murdered.
Sitting on the top shelf of the closet, Tennyson saw the orange shoebox Muriel mentioned. “Skye, your mom gave me permission to read your diary. I hope that’s okay with you? I promise the only reason I want to read it is in case there are clues in it that the police overlooked.” Ten reached for the box, pulling it down easily. When he opened it, there was a white journal with pen drawings of flowers all over the cover. He set the box on the bed and pulled out the book.
Images sped before Ten’s eyes. He took a deep breath and tried to slow down the flow of information. In his mind’s eye he could see four laughing girlfriends in the school lunchroom, in a pizza parlor, at the movies, driving and singing in a minivan. The happiest scenes of Skye’s life flashed through his mind.
While he held the book, his senses were flooded with laughter, joy, and acceptance. Ten knew how hard high school life could be without the right friends by your side. It seemed Skye had that and then some.
Looking back into