Carrot Cake Murder (Hannah Swensen, #10)(29)

“I like Patsy.” Andrea adjusted the straps of her gaily flowered, polished cotton sundress. It had an old-fashioned bolero jacket, and it was part of Claire’s fifties collection. Hannah had seen it in the window of Beau Monde Fashions.

“We met Pasty when we were walking over here.” Michelle explained. “She said she could tell at a glance that we were sisters.”

Hannah didn’t comment, but she knew it was true. Anyone who saw Andrea and Michelle together was struck by the family resemblance. And if you added Delores to the mix, you could tell they’d inherited their petite figures and lovely features from her.

“What size is that top?” Andrea asked Michelle.

“A five.”

“It looks smaller than that. I wear a five and it looks too tight for me.”

“It’s a little too tight for me, too,” Michelle admitted. “I washed it in hot water and it shrunk. I guess it’s probably more like a size three now.”

Hannah, who’d been listening to their conversation without comment, came very close to groaning. She hadn’t worn a size three since preschool. While her sisters had gotten Hannah’s share of their mother’s petite beauty genes, Hannah had inherited her tall, gangly frame and tendency to be a bit overweight, right along with her frizzy red hair and freckles, directly from their father.

“You look nice today, Hannah,” Michelle said, as if she’d suddenly realized that Hannah was feeling left out of the conversation.

Andrea, who was always socially aware, picked up on Michelle’s cue. “Yes, you do. I like that shade of green on you.”

“Thanks,” Hannah said, glancing down at the forest green blouse that she’d paired with tan cotton pants. Forest green was one of her favorite colors. She looked up to see Michelle watching her, and she noticed again how much skin her youngest sister was exposing. “You’re wearing sunscreen, aren’t you?”

“Yes, and mosquito repellent, too. You don’t have to worry about me.”

“Right.” Hannah exchanged a glance with Andrea. She was willing to bet that they were thinking the same thing. Sunburn and mosquito bites were the least of their worries. While there was nothing indecent about the way Michelle was dressed, her outfit would be certain to produce a loud chorus of wolf whistles if she walked past a construction site.

“Is Lonnie coming to the potluck tonight?” Andrea asked, mentioning the young sheriff’s deputy that Michelle had been dating for over a year.

“Yes. And that reminds me…I’d better change clothes. Lonnie doesn’t like me to wear this top around other men. He says it makes them slobber.”

As Michelle headed off to the bedroom to change, Andrea and Hannah exchanged grins. “I think Lonnie’s a good influence on her,” Andrea commented.

“You could be right,” Hannah agreed.

“Do you need some help chopping those vegetables?”

“Not really. This is the only good knife Mother has.” Hannah crossed her fingers to negate the lie, a leftover habit from childhood. Their mother had a whole butcher block full of expensive knives on the counter, and every one was perfectly sharpened. But if she let Andrea help her, her younger, less-culinarily talented sister would probably chop off a finger. And Hannah would much rather tell a little white lie than be responsible for that!

“What are you making?” Andrea stepped closer and peered into the bowl. “I see cauliflower and broccoli chopped up into little pieces. It’s got to be some kind of salad.”

“It is. It’s Sally’s Sunny Vegetable Salad. I got the recipe from her last year. Lisa’s doing a Caesar with black olives, Edna’s fixing macaroni salad, and Marge is making coleslaw.”

“And I’ve got my salad,” Andrea said proudly. “It’s got cottage cheese and grated onions in green Jell-O.”

Hannah tried a few comments to that in her mind. That sounds good, was an outright lie, and That’s nice, was too generic. She finally thought of something appropriate to say. “That’ll look great with the rest of the salads,” she said, just as Michelle emerged from the bedroom wearing white slacks and a lavender top with blousy, chiffon sleeves.

“Nice outfit,” Andrea complimented their youngest sibling.

“Thanks. Lonnie loves it when I wear purple and white. I think it’s because they’re the Jordan High colors.” Michelle walked over to stand next to Hannah. “Can I do anything to help?”

Hannah would have loved to ask Michelle to chop up some broccoli, but she’d already told Andrea the fib about the knives. “How about whisking up the dressing?” she suggested. “If Andrea will gather the ingredients, that is. And while you’re doing that, I need to ask your opinion about something.”

“What’s that?” Michelle asked, as Andrea brought over the small cooler that Hannah had brought with her.

“Mike says he doesn’t mind if I investigate as long as we exchange information. He sounded sincere, but I’m not sure.”

“That’s because you can’t tell with a cop,” Michelle said quickly. “They don’t have to be truthful all the time. I think cop school teaches them how to lie to trick suspects.”

Both Hannah and Andrea turned to Michelle in surprise. “Do you think Lonnie lies to you?” Hannah asked her.