Candy Cane Murder (Hannah Swensen #9.5)(34)

Hannah smiled her thanks. “I’m glad you liked it. Have another piece.”

“I’m thinking about it. It’s made with cream, right?”

“Yes.”

“Uh-oh. And there’s butter in the crust?” Andrea waited until Hannah nodded and then she asked her next question.

“How about cheese?”

“There are a couple of kinds of cheese.”

“A couple? Uh-oh. How much cheese?”

Hannah thought about dissembling, but it wasn’t nice to mess with somebody else’s diet. “Quite a bit of cheese,” she admitted, “probably the equivalent of two ounces per slice.”

Andrea gave a little whimper. “I don’t suppose you used low-fat cheese.”

“Nope.”

“Uh-oh. Tell me about the bacon pieces.”

Hannah thought about that for a moment. “They’re well drained,” she said.

“Oh good!” Andrea gave a relieved smile. “Then I guess I’ll have another piece!”

The parking lot at the Lake Eden Inn was full, but Hannah “found” a space by parking at an angle with the rear end of her cookie truck partially elevated on the rim of hard-packed ice that had been left by the snowplow around the perimeter.

“Okay,” she said, opening her door. “You’re wearing boots, aren’t you?”

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Joanne Fluke

“Of course. They’re the ugly silver moon boots Bill gave me when I got pregnant with Tracey and he was afraid I’d slip on the ice.”

“I thought you hated those.”

“I do, but they keep me from slipping on the ice. And besides, nobody’s going to see me until I get inside and then I’ll change to my shoes.”

Hannah glanced down at her old moose-hide boots. She’d left her shoes at The Cookie Jar. Unless she wanted to leave her boots in the cloakroom and pad up to see Jenny in her stocking feet, she’d better look for the pair of ballet-type pull-on slippers she usually carried in the back of her truck.

“You do have shoes, don’t you?” Andrea asked, glancing down at Hannah’s boots.

“I do.” Hannah did her best to exude confidence as she opened the back of her truck and rummaged around for her slippers. Luck was with her and she found them. “Here they are,” she announced, holding them up for Andrea to see.

“Great. Let’s go then. It’s freezing out here.”

The air was crisp, the night inky black with the moon shining blue and cold against the snow. When Hannah looked up at the night sky, the stars appeared jagged, as if they were made of shattered ice crystals. There was a beauty in the frosty night that made her wonder what it would have been like to live in an ice cave. If anyone could live in an ice cave.

She really wasn’t sure.

“Brrrr! It’s must be close to zero!” Andrea moved a little closer to Hannah. “I’m worried about the crab apple tree Bill and Tracey planted in the backyard. I hear it’s supposed to drop down to minus fifteen tonight.”

Her sister’s comment brought Hannah back from thoughts of wooly mammoths and glaciers. “Where did you hear that?”

“I saw the weather report on KCOW,” Andrea named the local television station.

“Then don’t worry. They’re always wrong.”

CANDY CANE MURDER

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“Are you sure?”

“Positive. Remember last August when they said we were going to have a whole week of rain? They called it the storm of the century and said it would bring us at least six inches before it cleared up. And then it was sunny and warm every day?”

“I remember. I stood in line to buy a new umbrella and I never used it.”

“Hold on,” Hannah said, grabbing Andrea’s arm. “Stand right here and look over at the inn.”

“But why should …” Andrea swallowed the rest of her own question as realization dawned. “Never mind. I get it.

This is where you left the path last night. And you found Wayne’s body just a few feet from here.”

“Exactly. That’s why I want you to look at the inn. How many windows can you see from here.”

There was a moment of silence while Andrea peered into the night. “I can’t see the first floor at all,” she said. “The trees are too tall. But I can see the last four rooms on the second floor. And if I can see them, they can see us.”

“Exactly. The moon was bright last night and if someone in one of those rooms happened to be looking out toward the parking lot …”

“They could have seen Wayne’s killer!” Andrea interrupted her. “Do you want to check with Sally to see who had those rooms last night?”

“Absolutely. Chances are, all Sally’s guests were at the party and those rooms were empty at the time Wayne was murdered. But it can’t hurt to ask.”

The rest of the walk was accomplished in silence. Both sisters were chilled from the winter cold and didn’t feel like speaking until they were sitting on a bench in the cloakroom changing from boots to shoes.

“Do you want to see Jenny first?” Andrea asked.

“No. We’ll get the names from Sally and then we’ll go up to visit Jenny.”

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