Candy Cane Murder (Hannah Swensen #9.5)(25)

Norman laughed. “You don’t do much Christmas shopping at the mall, do you?” he said, and it was more a statement than a question.

“Not if I can avoid it. If Claire doesn’t have what I need at her dress shop, and I can’t get it from the drugstore, I pick up the phone and order it from a catalogue. Maybe we should just forget it, Norman. I’m not sure if Cory’s here today anyway. I can always call him at home tonight.”

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“No way. We drove all the way out here and at least we can check to see if he’s there.” Norman reached out to take her arm. “Just hang on to me and I’ll get you to Bergstrom’s.”

“But really, Norman … maybe we should just …” Hannah’s protests died a quick death as Norman pulled her forward and out into the Christmas mêlée.

It was exactly as advertised; shopping was better in Bergstrom’s. It had nothing to do with the quality of the merchandise or the availability of helpful, well-informed salesclerks.

The interior of the posh department store was quiet, almost hushed compared to the hubbub outside in the mall. There were considerably less people in Bergstrom’s and Hannah thought she knew why. The exclusive department store was expensive and the words “clearance,” “blowout sale,” and “rock bottom price” had never passed the lips of the staff.

Bergstrom’s was not the place to shop if you were looking for a Christmas bargain. Everyone including Hannah knew that.

“Better?” Norman asked, leading Hannah toward the escalator in the central part of the store.

“Much better. We’d better find a clerk and ask where the wedding department is.”

“I know where it is. It’s on the third floor, right across from the travel agency.”

“You’ve been there?” Hannah was so surprised she almost stumbled as she stepped onto the escalator.

“No, but I’ve used the travel agency. They booked my flight to the dental convention in Seattle last year. There was a wall with a sign on it that said, MORE PROGRESS AT BERG— STROM’S. PLEASE EXCUSE OUR DUST. When I asked one of the workers what they were building, he said they were putting in a wedding department.”

Hannah felt vaguely disappointed as they rode up to the third floor. She wasn’t sure why. She was glad that Norman 86

Joanne Fluke

hadn’t made plans for a wedding when he’d asked her to marry him, plans that he would have had to cancel when she’d decided not to marry anyone quite yet. At the same time, it would have shown his commitment and proven to her that his proposal hadn’t been just a gut reaction to the fact that Mike had proposed first. Telling herself she had no right to want such a commitment when she was unwilling to reciprocate, she stepped off the escalator, turned toward the wedding department, and came face to face with a pair of giant gold wedding bells tied together with a giant gold ribbon that said, WONDERFUL WEDDINGS.

“This is it,” Norman said, quite unnecessarily.

Hannah eyed the huge bells that adorned the tall gold archway leading into the department. “Pretty fancy!”

“Shall we?” Norman held out his arm.

Oh boy! Hannah muttered under her breath as she took it.

If anyone they knew saw them walking into the wedding department arm in arm, tongues would wag all over Lake Eden.

“Hannah!”

Hannah turned to see Cory Reynolds coming toward them. “Hi, Cory. I’m so sorry about your brother-in-law.”

“So am I,” Cory said. “Wayne was a wonderful man. Melinda can’t seem to stop crying. She tried to come in today, to say a few words to the staff, but I made her stay home.”

“Very wise,” Norman said.

“Thank you. But please let’s not mar this happy occasion with sad tidings. How may I help you two today?”

Hannah was stunned for a moment, but then she recovered her voice. “Actually … it’s not quite like that. Norman and I aren’t here for a wedding. We came because we really need to ask you some questions about Wayne. Is there somewhere we can talk in private?”

“Yes. Of course.” Cory turned and led the way down a hallway to several rooms. He chose one, opened the door, and motioned them inside. “Will this do?”

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“It’s perfect,” Hannah said, admiring the comfortable look the decorator had achieved. The room resembled a living room with comfortable furniture, some tasteful flower prints on the walls, and a tray containing bottled water and an ice bucket.

“Water?” Cory asked them.

“No thanks,” Hannah answered for both of them.

“I hear you’re looking into Wayne’s death,” Cory opened the conversation as he took a bottle of water for himself.

“Yes, unofficially,” Hannah made that clear. “It’s just that I saw Wayne only minutes before he died and then I found him like that.”

Cory shivered slightly. “I know. All night I kept thinking that if I’d walked out to the parking lot with him, I might have prevented it.”

“Or you might have been killed right along with your brother-in-law,” Norman pointed out.

Cory was silent for moment. He was clearly thinking it over. “You’re right. What ifs don’t do any good. I didn’t go out to the parking lot with Wayne, so I’ll never know what would have happened if I had.”