Carrot Cake Murder (Hannah Swensen, #10)(15)

It was a perfectly lovely day. The air was scented with a wisp of smoke from a fisherman’s shore lunch and a dampness that reminded her of wet swimming suits tossed over a porch rail to dry. The sun was almost straight overhead. When it reached its apex, the shadows of the tall pines that lined the lakeshore would be at their smallest, no larger than a dark circle on the ground around the tree trunks. It was the final Monday in August, and Hannah was playing hooky with her mother’s blessing, an occurrence that had never happened during her school days at Jordan High. Delores and Carrie were also playing hooky. They’d closed their antique shop to attend the Beeseman-Herman Family Reunion and sent their assistant, Luanne Hanks, next door to Hannah’s cookie and coffee shop. She’d arrived to take charge just as Hannah was about to turn the CLOSED sign on the front door to OPEN, and now Hannah was free to enjoy this lazy end-of-summer day.

Since she was in no hurry, Hannah took the long way around the lake. Attending Lisa and Herb’s family reunion would be fun as long as she didn’t get buttonholed by Gus Klein again. She’d spent quite enough time with him at the dance last night.

Hannah let out a groan as she came around a curve and saw that the public parking lot was full. In addition to the relatives who were staying at nearby lake cottages, it appeared that everyone in town had driven out for the day’s festivities. It wasn’t surprising, considering the size of both families. Lisa was the youngest daughter in the large Herman family. Most of the children had stayed in the area and married into other large families. The same was true for the Beesemans. At last count, over a hundred people had arrived for the reunion.

Since there weren’t any vacant parking spots, Hannah created one of her own. That was the beauty of owning a four-wheel-drive cookie truck. When the proper gear was engaged, her Suburban climbed up the three-foot berm of dirt surrounding the parking lot and found a semi-level spot on top.

Hannah took the time to spray on mosquito repellent, a precaution she’d learned early on in life. Then she retrieved the large box of cookies she’d packed to add to the lunch table. Kids loved cookies, and there were plenty of kids at the family reunion. She held the box with both hands, dug in her heels to walk down the berm, and then hurried toward the picnic tables by the shore where a crowd was gathering.

Loud, merry voices floated up to greet her. Hannah spied Lisa standing on top of a picnic table, holding a cheerleading megaphone to her lips. She was wearing a red T-shirt with the legend FAMILY IS EVERYTHING.

“It’s time for the family portrait,” Lisa called out. “We’re going to have the lake in the background, so line up at the edge of the water behind the two chairs for your host and hostess. That’s my dad, Jack Herman, and Herb’s mom, Marge Beeseman. Norman and Herb will tell you what row you’re in if you can’t figure it out for yourself. We want the tallest in the back and the shortest in the front.”

Hannah set the cookies down on the food table and headed for the shore to watch. She’d heard that Norman had offered to take the group pictures, and perhaps she could help.

“Hannah!”

Hannah knew that voice, and thankfully it wasn’t Gus. “Hi, Mother,” she said, turning to greet the fashionable, dark-haired woman who would die rather than exceed the petite dress size she’d worn in high school.

“Hello, dear.” Delores steadied herself against her eldest daughter’s arm and shook the sand from one white high-heeled sandal. “I wish I hadn’t worn these today, but I didn’t think the beach would be quite this sandy.”

Hannah laughed. “It’s a beach, Mother. By definition it’s sandy.”

“You’re right, of course. But I didn’t think it would be this sandy.” Delores paused for a moment, and then she gave Hannah a smile. “Did you like the surprise we sent you this morning?”

For a brief moment Hannah was puzzled, but then she got it. “You mean Luanne. That was really thoughtful of you, Mother. I didn’t think I’d be able to drive out here until we closed.”

“Anything for my dearest daughter.”

Uh-oh! Warning bells sounded in Hannah’s head. Her mother wanted something…but what?

“I hope you can relax and have a good time today. You deserve a little break, Hannah.”

The warning bells turned into klaxons, and yellow caution lights began to blink on and off. “Thanks, Mother,” Hannah responded. And then, just because she couldn’t resist, she asked, “What do you want?”

Her mother reared back in surprise. “Want? What makes you think I want anything? Just because I called you my dearest daughter and I said I you deserved to relax and have a good time doesn’t mean I want anything.”

“I’m sorry,” Hannah said, backpedaling as fast as she could. “I thought there was something you wanted me to do for you.”

“Well…now that you mention it…” Delores gave an elaborate shrug. “You could find Marge’s brother Gus for me. No one’s seem him since the dance last night. When he didn’t show up for the family picture, they sent me to find him. But my shoes…” she glanced down at the stylish sandals. “They’re just not suitable for trying to locate someone. You know what I mean, don’t you, dear?”

Caught like a rat in a trap, like a fly on a sticky spiral of flypaper, like a deer in the headlights, like a moth fluttering helplessly against…