Elaine Viets & Victoria Laurie, Nancy Martin, Denise Swanson - Drop-Dead Blonde (v5.0) (pdf) Unknown (audio ebook reader .txt) 📖

She checked her watch. ``The kids will be here in half an hour.'' Bunny and Charlie walked away without acknowl- edging her words. Skye called after them, ``Don't forget Frannie and her crew will be here any minute, so keep it G-rated.'' 230 Denise Swanson

The teenagers arrived just as Skye started to get the re- freshments ready.

They pitched in, and as they all worked Skye went over their duties one more time. ``Each of you is in charge of five kids. Miss Bunny and I will be available if you need help with anything. After the eggs are dyed, take your group into the basement. We've got three games for you to play with them. Try and give us at least thirty or forty minutes to hide the eggs before you bring them back up- stairs. Everyone with me so far?''

They all nodded.

``Great. Once they come back upstairs, hand them each a little basket and let them start hunting. There'll be the regular eggs they dyed, and also plastic eggs with slips of paper inside indicating prizes ranging from a chocolate bunny to the grand prize--a bicycle. Try to make sure all of the children find at least one plastic egg. Understand?''

More nods.

``Okay. Let me show you the games we set up in the basement.'' Skye led the teens to the stairs.

They encountered Bunny as she came out of the store- room. The redhead's hair was mussed and her makeup smeared. She waved at the kids and said to Skye, ``I'll be right back. I want to freshen up and see if Ruby needs anything. Charlie is changing into his costume.''

``Good.'' Skye looked at her watch. ``We'll unlock the door in five minutes, so don't be long.''

After the tour of the basement, Skye led the teens back upstairs and to the entrance. There were already twenty or thirty kids and their parents waiting outside. As soon as Skye unlocked the door they dashed inside, and Frannie and her team snapped into action, registering kids, taking coats, and separating them into groups.

Skye made her way through the crowd, reminding par- ents to pick up their kids no later than five.

The last parent had finally left when Bunny rushed over to Skye, took her arm, and pulled her aside, frantically whispering, ``Ruby's gone! The apartment's been ran- sacked, and there's blood all over.''

Skye felt her chest tighten. ``I'll call Simon and Wally. You go ahead with the hunt.''

Bunny looked torn. DEAD BLONDES TELL NO TALES 231

``There's nothing else we can do right now. We have a hundred kids here, and we can't tell them to leave. Most of their parents dropped them off and they're here alone.''

Bunny nodded and pasted a smile on her face, turned to the kids, and said, ``Let's go have some fun.''

Skye made the calls. Simon was stuck at the funeral home, but Wally said he'd go directly up to the apartment. He also said that one of his officers would be at the bowling alley soon to keep an eye on things while the children were there.

She thanked him and went back to the party.

Everyone seemed to be having a good time. Skye dealt with the small emergencies that popped up, like broken eggs and fights over the red dye, but otherwise things were running smoothly.

By three thirty, all the kids were in the basement playing games, and Skye and Bunny were hurriedly hiding eggs.

They finished just as the first wave of hunters crested the stairs. Skye checked her watch. Where was Uncle Charlie?

She said loudly, ``Maybe the Easter Bunny is feeling shy today. Let's all call his name to make him feel welcome. Ready? One. Two. Three.''

``Easter Bunny!'' the kids shouted together.

Nothing.

Skye smiled at the kids, but there was a line of worry between her eyes. ``One more time.''

``Easter Bunny!'' the kids shouted again.

Nothing; then after a long moment the storeroom door burst open and the Easter Bunny hopped out. The kids went wild and the hunt began.

A half hour later, all the kids had prizes and the parents started arriving to pick them up. By five thirty the kids and parents were gone and the cleanup had begun. Wally had come down from the apartment after everyone left and said that he had called out all of his officers to look for Ruby, and he had the county sheriff's department processing the crime scene. If they didn't find her soon, Wally would call the FBI.

After Wally left, Skye paused in gathering discarded candy wrappers from the floor and asked Bunny, who was wiping tables, ``Have you seen Charlie since he made his appearance as the Easter Bunny?'' 232 Denise Swanson

The redhead stopped in midswipe. ``No. Maybe he can't get out of the costume. It looked complicated.''

Skye stood. ``I'll go check. It's been at least an hour since I've seen him. Surely he'd have come for help if he needed it.''

Bunny followed her. The storeroom was dark, and when Skye switched on the lights she gasped. Charlie was duct- taped to a chair with a gag in his mouth. Chapter 13

Blondes of a Feather Flock

Together Skye cradled the receiver between her ear and shoulder as she straightened the rental shoe racks. It was six P.M. Friday night and the lanes were full. ``Mom, as I already told you in our previous hundred phone calls, Charlie's fine.''

``Are you sure?'' May demanded.

``Yes. The guy held a gun to him and duct-taped him to the chair but didn't hurt him.'' Skye repeated what she had been telling her mother every time May called. ``Hey, I've got to go. I haven't talked to Bunny yet, and I need to check and see if things are ready for tonight's Marilyn Monroe look-alike contest. 'Bye.'' Before May could an- swer, Skye hung up and headed downstairs.

``Oh,