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While she made her way into the station, she wondered which volleyball team members Wally had decided to
reinterview. Her money was on Keely and the team captain. But something about Juliette hiding her intelligence made Skye suspicious of the girl. There was more to that young woman than she allowed the world to see.

Had Blair confronted Juliette? A teenager’s motives for their actions were far different from an adult’s. A fact to keep in mind when they talked to the volleyball players.

CHAPTER 18

F2T—Free to Talk

“W
hat’s up?” Skye greeted her mother, who was once again on duty behind the dispatcher’s desk. “Is Wally with a suspect?”

May was on the telephone, but she covered the receiver with her palm and said, “He’s waiting for you in his office.”

“Thanks.” Skye waved, and May went back to her conversation.
Phew!
As Skye walked away, she wiped imaginary sweat from her brow. So far so good. Her mother hadn’t made any further reference to babies or Skye needing to lose weight.

Making her way down the narrow corridor, Skye paused in front of the coffee/interrogation room. She could hear several voices, but they were speaking too softly for her to pick out any words. The blinds were closed, indicating the space was occupied by persons of interest rather than an officer on an afternoon break. Which girl had been summoned, and was that her parents in there with her?

Wally met Skye as she started up the stairs. Giving her a quick hug and kiss, he said, “I asked Mr. and Mrs. Alvarez to bring their daughter in after school. They arrived a few minutes ago.”

“I figured you’d want to talk to the volleyball team
captain.” Skye smiled at her correct guess. “Also, remember her father is the guy I chatted with at the dry cleaner’s. Even though he appeared to be a fan of Blair, I imagine you have a few questions for him, too.”

“Yep. About which volleyball parents didn’t admire the vic.” Wally put his hand on the small of Skye’s back, guiding her down the hallway. He stopped to open the door, then stepped back and allowed her to enter first.

The coffee/interrogation room was a no-frills space not unlike the teachers’ lounge at the high school. A counter with a sink ran the length of the sidewall, a long table took up most of the center area, and a couple of vending machines occupied the rear.

Having skipped lunch in order to call Blair’s sister, Skye heard her stomach growl as she passed by a plate of cookies near the coffee urn, reminding her that she was starving.

Wishing she were back on her honeymoon, enjoying a thick steak in the cruise ship’s dining room, Skye forced herself to smile warmly. She held out her hand to Roxy’s father and said, “I don’t know if you recall, but we met the other day at the dry cleaner’s. I’m Skye Denison-Boyd. In addition to my job with the school, I also work as a psychological consultant to the police department.”

“I remember.” Mr. Alvarez shook her hand and said, “Call me Rock.” He gestured to the petite blonde sitting by his side. “This is my wife, Vanna.”

“Nice to meet you.” Skye shook the woman’s hand and then said to the couple, “And, of course, I know your daughter.” She turned to the girl. “Hi, Roxy. Just to be clear, in this setting I’m not acting as your school psychologist. What you say here is no longer private, but nothing that you told me in our session at school will be shared with Chief Boyd or the police. Do you understand what I just told you?”

Roxy rolled her eyes, but after a sharp look from her father, she said in a polite tone, “Yes, ma’am. Am I in trouble?”

Before Skye could answer the girl, Wally introduced himself. Then he and Skye took seats facing the family. Once they were settled, he clicked on the old-fashioned portable tape recorder sitting on the table. The city attorney had recently decreed that the police had to make an audio recording of all official interviews. Announcing the date and time, Wally asked, “Rock, Vanna, and Roxy Alvarez, are you aware you’re being recorded?”

After a nervous exchange of glances, all three answered yes.

“Please state your full names and addresses.” After the trio complied, Wally said to Roxy’s parents, “We have a few questions regarding Blair Hucksford’s murder that we’d like to ask your daughter, and in order to make her more comfortable, we are allowing you both to remain with her during this conversation.”

“Is she a suspect?” Mr. Alvarez asked. “Maybe she should have a lawyer.”

“We are talking to several of the volleyball team members, and as captain, Roxy has a unique perspective,” Wally said smoothly.

Skye noticed Wally avoided answering Mr. Alvarez’s questions.

“Well, I guess it’s okay, then.” Mr. Alvarez looked at his wife, whose expression was wary, then asked, “What do you want to know?”

“How would you describe Ms. Hucksford’s style of coaching?” Wally asked.

“She wanted to win and expected all of us to give a hundred and fifty percent in order to make that happen.” Roxy twined her fingers together, then cracked her knuckles. “It was real important to her that we work together. And she always said the only way for us to shine was to do exactly what our coach told us to do.”

“Did she ever ask you to do something you didn’t want to do?” Wally asked.

“Sure. Who
wants
to do fifty laps?” Roxy sneered.
“But I knew I had to follow her leadership in order to be a better athlete.”

“Admirable.” Wally’s tone was mild, but the girl stiffened. He raised a brow. “Did everyone on your team feel that way?”

“Everyone who wanted to stay on the team,” Roxy snapped. “You agreed with her methods, sucked it up if you didn’t agree with her methods, or quit the team. That’s the rule.”

“So you didn’t resent Ms. Hucksford for making you do stuff you were opposed to doing?” Skye asked. “Because someone mentioned hearing you and Ms. Hucksford having a pretty loud argument a while ago.”

“No. I definitely did not resent following the coach’s guidelines.” Roxy crossed her arms. “I have a goal, and Ms. Hucksford was helping me achieve it. I may not have always liked what it took to attain my objective, but I was willing to sacrifice to get what I wanted.” Roxy curled her lip. “And yes, occasionally Ms. H and I disagreed on something concerning the team, but in the end it was all about the win. Besides, after we discussed the situation, Ms. H saw my point and agreed to ask Keely to rejoin the squad.”

“Keely Peterson quit the team?” Wally asked. “When was that?”

“Sometime last month, or maybe it was the month before.” Roxy sucked in her cheeks. “But as I said, Ms. H got her to come back.”

“Why did Keely leave?” Skye wasn’t as concerned about the timing as the motivation. “When I was chatting with your father at the dry cleaner’s, he mentioned that you and she were the best players.”

“She had a problem with Ms. H’s methods, but they worked something out.” Roxy flipped her braid over her shoulder. “As usual, Keely got her way, while the rest of us had to toe the line.”

“I see,” Skye murmured, hiding her surprise.
Considering both Blair’s reputation and Skye’s own experience with the woman, the coach hadn’t seemed like the type to capitulate to one of her player’s demands.

“What did Keely get her way about?” Wally asked.

“She refused to do some of the team-building stuff, and Ms. H agreed to waive the requirement for her.” Roxy’s mouth formed a pinched-looking pout.

“What kind of activities did Keely refuse to do?” Skye asked.

“The usual.” Roxy refused to meet Skye’s gaze. “I don’t remember the specific ones.”

Skye asked several more questions about Keely quitting the team, but Roxy maintained she couldn’t recall exactly which exercises her teammate turned down. Roxy was getting agitated, and Skye had run out of ways to phrase the same inquiry, so she gave up.

After a few seconds of silence, Wally said, “Tell me about Monday evening.”

“Like I told you yesterday at school when you asked me, Ms. Hucksford scheduled a team practice for six o’clock.” Roxy’s voice was sullen. “We finished up at nine. I showered, dressed, swung by my friend Brit Jeffries’s house to pick her up, and went home. She was spending the night with me so we could study for a math test the next day.”

“You had two volleyball activities on Monday? One in the morning
and
one in the evening?” Skye asked.
Wow!
It was no wonder so many people thought Blair was preoccupied with the team. Her obsession with her job made Skye seem like a free spirit.

“Yep. In the morning we swam to strengthen our shoulder and leg muscles, and in the evening we practiced our serving, passing, net saves, and repetition drills.”

“And all that took place in the gym?” Skye asked, wishing she’d had a chance to read Wally’s and Quirk’s reports before this interview.

“Yes.” Roxy examined her fingernails. “Ms. H always reserved the gym, lockers, and pool. She didn’t want any
civilians around. And a few of the girls like to take a dip after practice.”

“So no one besides the team members and Ms. Hucksford were present,” Wally said.

“Right.” Roxy nodded. “Sometimes the football players and Mr. Goodson join us, but not that night. It was just the girls.”

“Was there anyone with Ms. Hucksford when you left?” Wally asked.

“There were a couple of kids who were waiting for their rides, but I saw their parents pull into the lot when I was driving away. We all had tests the next day, so no one wanted to stay for a swim.” Roxy blew out an exasperated sigh. “I told you all this yesterday.”

“You didn’t mention Brit Jeffries. Why is that?” Wally asked.

“She’s not on the volleyball team, so I didn’t think you were interested in her.” Roxy heaved another exaggerated sigh.

“Did you and Brit make any detours between her place and yours?” Wally asked, clearly unconcerned with the girl’s annoyance.

“Nope. We went straight to my house,” Roxy said. “Brit and I were both starving, and I had a phone interview with the SWIU coach set up for ten and I sure didn’t want to be late for that.”

“Roxy and Brit had something to eat.” Vanna Alvarez joined the conversation. “Then Roxy talked to that SWIU woman for over an hour. Afterward the girls did their homework, watched TV, and went to bed around midnight.”

“You didn’t mention speaking to the SWIU coach yesterday either,” Wally said sharply.

“I forgot.” Roxy shrugged. “You made me nervous.”

Skye exchanged glances with Wally. The time of death had been set between eleven and twelve, so if they believed Roxy’s parents, she had an alibi. They’d have to check with the SWIU coach and Brit Jeffries, but it looked as if Roxy was in the clear.

Wally continued to ask questions, rewording them to see if Roxy’s story changed.

Finally, Rock Alvarez pushed back his chair and said, “My daughter has answered all your questions several times over. If you don’t have anything new to ask her, we need to get home so she can get started on her homework and my wife can cook supper.”

“Of course,” Wally agreed, but he squeezed Skye’s knee, indicating this was the time if she had anything to add. “We surely don’t want to keep you from dinner. Thanks for your patience.”

“We’re happy to cooperate with the police,” Rock said, standing.

“Mr. Alvarez,” Skye said, getting to her feet and facing him. “Before you all get going, I just wanted to ask
you
a question.”

“Okay.” Rock twisted his baseball cap in his hands.

“You mentioned at the dry cleaner’s that not all the volleyball parents felt the same way you did about Ms. Hucksford.”

“Right.” Rock’s tone was neutral. “Some of them couldn’t accept the time and commitment that playing on a winning team required.”

“I imagine it is tough with the other extracurricular activities and homework and all the rest of the teenage stuff,” Skye said sympathetically. “Some people think winning isn’t worth the sacrifice.”

“Sure.” Rock’s ears reddened, and his nails dug into the ball cap’s fabric. “But their daughters don’t have a scholarship on the line. It’s important for her to be on a winning team.”

“When we chatted, you seemed like a big supporter of Ms. Hucksford.”

“I was.” Rock straightened his shoulders. “Ms. H saw how talented Roxy was and was making sure she was in line for one of the few spots on a college team.”

“Which parents weren’t on board with Ms. Hucksford’s methods?” Skye asked, then glanced at Roxy. The
girl’s expression didn’t mirror the hero worship on her father’s face. Had Blair let her down some way? Although, if her alibi checked out, her feelings about her coach didn’t really matter.

“The Inslees and Mac Peterson were the most vocal,” Rock answered reluctantly. “The rest settled down once the team started winning.”

After Rock stated that he had nothing more to add, the family left and Skye and Wally retreated to his office.

As Wally put the tape recording of the Alvarez interview into a manila evidence envelope, wrote the necessary information on the front, and made a few notes, Skye mulled over what Rock had revealed.

Finally, she murmured, “Parents can be funny about their kids’ participation in sports. I think there was more drama than Mr. Alvarez was willing to reveal.”

“Uh-huh.” Wally didn’t look up. “First thing in the morning, I’ll be talking to the Inslees and Mac Peterson. Maybe Peterson can shed some light on why his daughter quit the team and then rejoined it.”

“Juliette Inslee is on the school paper.” Skye rummaged in her tote bag for her own pen and paper and jotted down a couple of reminders. “There’s something more than meets the eye with that girl. It might be a good idea to arrange for her and Keely to come into the station after school tomorrow so we can question them.”

“You read my mind, darlin’.” Wally placed the completed evidence envelope into a drawer, then locked it and pocketed the key.

“Did Thor Goodson ever contact you?” Skye asked. She couldn’t believe she’d almost forgotten about Blair’s missing boyfriend.

“The ranger found him a couple of hours ago camped out in an unauthorized spot.” Wally stood up. “Goodson’s car had a flat tire and no spare. Evidently, he just
happened
to have outdoor equipment in his trunk, so he decided to just stay there a few days to recover from his grief.”