Apple Turnover Murder (Hannah Swensen, #13)(61)

The moon shining in the large window made hulking shapes of the furniture. Hannah made her way cautiously past a large leather armchair and stepped around the corner of a massive wooden coffee table. It would be worse than embarrassing if she broke her ankle by stumbling over furniture in a place they weren’t authorized to enter. She’d tried to think of some excuse in case someone happened to catch them, but nothing seemed plausible. No one would believe that the sheriff’s wife was showing her older sister the apartment because Hannah thought she knew someone who might want to rent it.

After a close encounter with a leather-covered hassock, Hannah made it to the window and drew the drapes. “Okay,” she whispered. “You can turn on your flashlight.”

There was an audible click in the stillness and Andrea’s flashlight sent out a beam of yellow light. A split second later, Hannah’s did the same.

“Where shall we start?” Andrea asked. “And what are we looking for, anyway?”

“I’ll know it when I see it. Just point out anything that looks out of place.”

They started in the kitchen, a room so small Hannah would have called it a kitchenette. “If you were listing this place, what would you say about the kitchen?” she asked Andrea.

“I’d call it a cozy dream of a kitchen,” Andrea said.

“In real-estate-speak, cozy means small?”

“That’s right. And spacious means medium-sized.”

Andrea started with the refrigerator while Hannah checked the cupboards. It was quickly evident that Bradford Ramsey hadn’t done much cooking since food supplies were almost nonexistent. Hannah found a box of crackers, several cans of soup, two boxes of natural grain, heart-healthy cereal, and a jar of instant coffee. “Anything?” she asked, turning to her sister.

“Not really.” Andrea shut the refrigerator door. “A dozen eggs, milk with an expired date, and some dried-out cheddar cheese.”

The living room was next, and it yielded equally unsatisfying results. There was nothing but dust under the cushions of the couch and chair, and only books on the bookshelf. It was surprising how little evidence there was to indicate that a living, breathing, human being had called this home.

Hannah left Andrea to go through the second bookcase and went ahead to the bathroom. There wasn’t much to look at in the shower besides a bar of soap and a razor. The medicine cabinet didn’t yield much either, only a bottle of Pepto Bismol and a half-empty tin of throat lozenges. If Bradford had been dealing illicit drugs for extra cash, he certainly hadn’t stashed any in his medicine cabinet!

After the obligatory peek into the watery depths of the toilet tank simply because she’d once seen it in a movie, Hannah emerged from the room frowning. There was a matching frown on Andrea’s face. So far their search had been fruitless.

“The bedroom?” Andrea whispered.

“Yes. I’ll go in first and check out the windows.”

When Hannah entered the bedroom, she saw that the curtains were already drawn. She parted them enough to look out and realized the reason they’d been closed. The window looked out on an ivy-covered brick wall that formed the side of the hallway leading to the indoor spa and swimming pool. The only view was of the wall, and although Bradford had probably kept the curtains open during the day for the sunlight that would shine in, it made sense to close them at night rather than look out at the darkness.

“If you shut the door, you can turn on the lights in here,” Hannah said, motioning Andrea into the room. This window faces a blank wall.”

Andrea flicked the wall switch and a large lamp on the dresser turned on. Hannah walked over to turn on the other two lamps, one on either side of the bed, and then she turned to find Andrea just staring at the room.

“What’s the matter?” Hannah asked her.

“It’s just a bedroom.”

“You sound disappointed.”

“I am. I thought it would be more … exciting.”

Hannah was amused, but she didn’t dare show it. There were times when Andrea wasn’t very worldly, but that could be because she’d married Bill right out of high school and she’d never left Lake Eden for any length of time.

“Let’s see what we can find,” Hannah directed. “Why don’t you start with his dresser drawers.”

“Ooh! I love to go through people’s drawers. You never know what secrets you’ll find.”

Hannah laughed. Perhaps Andrea would find something. People did hide things in dresser drawers. “Have fun. While you’re doing that, I’ll check the closet.”

It was an eerie feeling going through a dead man’s clothing, especially a dead man you’d known. Hannah checked the upper shelf, but nothing was there. And the only thing on the floor was a large shoe tree with pairs of shoes neatly arranged on its tubular holders. The clothes were neatly hung on hangers, and there was nothing of interest that she could see.

“Hannah?” Andrea called her softly from the bedroom.

“Yes?”

“Come out here quick! I think I found something!”

Hannah hurried out of the closet. She found Andrea sitting on the edge of Bradford’s bed holding something that glittered brightly in her hand. “What is it?”

“An earring. I think it’s sapphire with diamonds all around it. It’s not costume jewelry. I know the real thing when I see it.”