Candy Cane Murder (Hannah Swensen #9.5)(29)

Hannah walked on to the next room. The door was ajar and she made it even more so. This was a woman’s bedroom.

There were fresh flowers on the ornate dresser, and another set of see-through dry cleaner bags containing party dresses CANDY CANE MURDER

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and women’s suits. Hannah was about to go on to greener pastures when something she spied turned this room into a shade of emerald she couldn’t resist.

It was a photo album, sitting on a table by the window.

Photos could be revealing, and Hannah wanted to take a quick peek. If a guest was staying here with Melinda and Cory, she might have information about why Wayne was murdered. There was only one way to tell who that guest was. Hannah had to get a look at the photo album before Melinda’s maid came in search of the wayward visitor who had missed the guest bathroom and was in some other part of the penthouse.

Hannah glanced up and down the hallway. No one was in the immediate vicinity. She knew she was taking a chance, but she ducked in the open door and hurried to the table with the album.

The photo album had initials on the front in fancy gold script. The letters were so stylized that they were difficult to read, but Hannah was almost positive that they were M. A. A.

In the space of no more than a heartbeat, she opened the album and looked inside. It was a family album. There was a wedding with people Hannah didn’t recognize. And then there was a baby in a baptismal gown. The father holding her looked proud and happy and the mother, who was standing at his side, looked a lot like Melinda Reynolds Bergstrom!

She was taking a chance standing here snooping, but there was no way she could squelch her curiosity. Hannah flipped through the pages, gazing at pictures of a small girl being steadied by her dad on a hobbyhorse, a preschooler riding a tricycle, and a little girl getting on a school bus, waving at whoever was holding the camera. There were pictures of family vacations with mom, dad, and daughter. One was taken at the Wisconsin Dells. Hannah recognized Storybook Gardens.

There was another series of snapshots of Crystal Cave in Wisconsin. These were obviously Melinda’s parents, and as Melinda grew older, Hannah recognized her. But where was 100

Joanne Fluke

Melinda’s brother, Cory? He wasn’t in any of these early family photos.

Hannah made a lightning quick search of the album.

Christmas in grade school, no Cory. A family trip to Itasca to see the origin of the Mississippi River, no Cory. The family at Melinda’s high school graduation, no Cory. There wasn’t one single picture of Melinda’s brother, and that was unusual to say the least!

Now for the room. Was it Melinda’s? Hannah thought that it must be. There were several framed magazine covers that Melinda had posed for, hanging on the walls. When had she moved here, next to Cory, instead of sharing the master suite with her husband? Hannah made a quick survey of the bedroom, gathering information. There was an archive-size stack of modeling magazines in the white wrought-iron bookcase against the far wall, and every inch of the closet was filled with clothing. There were personal items in the dresser.

Hannah pulled out a few drawers to check the contents, and she noticed gardening books on another table, their pages marked by colored tabs. One gold-colored slipper peeked out from beneath the bed, and a silk dressing gown was tossed on a chair in the corner. It was an assumption, but Hannah made it without quibbling. This was Melinda’s room and she’d been using it for quite a while.

Hannah’s head snapped up as she heard footsteps. Someone was coming! She glanced around quickly, and headed straight for the bathroom. She shut the door just a heartbeat before she heard someone enter the bedroom.

“Miss Swensen?” It was a voice Hannah recognized.

Emily the maid was looking for her. “Are you in here, Miss Swensen?”

“I’m in the bathroom,” Hannah answered, flushing the toilet to add credence to her words. She was busted, caught red-handed, snooping in Melinda’s bedroom. But why was Melinda sleeping in this bedroom when the master bedroom was right down the hall?

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There was no time to think about that now. She was going to have to do some fast talking and hope that Emily would buy it. Hannah took a deep breath, opened the door, and gave the maid her brightest smile.

“I hope I found the right bathroom,” she said. “I forgot whether Melinda said to go left, or right.”

The maid looked suspicious for a brief moment and then she smiled. “You didn’t, but that’s all right. I’ll escort you back to the garden. Mrs. Bergstrom paged me. She was afraid you were lost.”

“I guess I was!” Hannah said. “But I’m glad you’re here, Emily. I’d like to know if this is Melinda’s bedroom.”

“Oh! Well … yes. Yes, it is. But that’s Mrs. Bergstrom’s private business. I can’t say anything more.”

“Of course you can,” Hannah interrupted her. “Your employer’s dead, murdered in cold blood, and his widow doesn’t seem to be grieving very much. Do you think she cares?”

“Not that one!” Emily said, shaking her head. “There’s no love lost there and there wasn’t on his side, either.” She moved closer and continued in a whisper. “I’m almost sure Mr. Bergstrom was going to divorce her, not that he said anything to me, of course. But it wasn’t a real marriage, if you know what I mean. And now … I’d better take you back before she comes after both of us.”