Carrot Cake Murder (Hannah Swensen, #10)(30)

“Absolutely.” Michelle gave a little laugh. “Last night he told me that I was the most beautiful woman in the world.”

“That’s not a lie,” Hannah said.

And at almost the same time Andrea asked, “What’s wrong with that? You are.”

“Thanks, guys,” Michelle smiled at both of them, “but I know that’s not true. Lonnie was lying, pure and simple.”

“It wasn’t a lie, strictly speaking,” Hannah informed her. “Lonnie just exaggerated a bit to flatter you.”

Andrea agreed. “Men are allowed to say things like that whether they mean them or not.”

“But it usually means they want something,” Hannah added.

“Oh, he did,” Michelle said.

Andrea and Hannah locked eyes. It was clear that both of them were hoping the other one would ask. But the silence lengthened, and finally Hannah broke down.

“Okay, I’ll ask,” she said. “Are you willing to tell us what Lonnie wanted?”

Michelle laughed. “I was wondering which one of you would cave in and ask me. Sure, I’ll tell you what he wanted. Lonnie asked me if he could buy me an engagement ring for Christmas.”

“But you’ve got two years of college to go,” Andrea pointed out.

“I know that. I told him it was too soon. And I said that if he still felt the same way next year, he should ask me again.”

“Smart sister!” Hannah exclaimed, exchanging a high-five with Andrea.

“But the two years I’ve got left in school aren’t the only reason I didn’t want to get engaged now,” Michelle went on. “There’s someone else I might want to date.”

“Someone here in Lake Eden?” Hannah asked, hoping that wasn’t the case. Lonnie would be pretty upset if he had a rival he had to face every day in town.

Michelle shook her head. “Someone at school. And he hasn’t even asked me out yet. But I think he will, and I want to be free to go if he asks me.”

“That’s probably smart,” Hannah told her.

“I think so. I don’t want to commit to anyone until I’m absolutely sure. I’m just like you, Hannah.”

Hannah winced inwardly. What Michelle was admiring as a smart choice might actually turn out to be a flaw in Hannah’s personality. There were some people who simply couldn’t commit to anything. They sat on the fence all their lives, wavering between two choices, and ended up completely alone. Hannah didn’t think that was what she was doing, but she wasn’t completely sure. In any event, this wasn’t the time for deep soul-searching. She needed their opinion of the alliance that Mike had suggested.

“We got off the track here,” Hannah said. “We were talking about cops and lying. Do you think Mike was lying to me when he promised to give me access to information he learned if I’d do the same with him?”

Michelle looked thoughtful. “I don’t know. Does he have anything to gain by lying to you?”

“Of course he does,” Andrea answered the question. “He knows Hannah will play straight with him if she agrees to his deal. But she won’t know if he’s not playing straight with her.”

“I’ll know,” Hannah said.

Andrea looked surprised. “How?”

“My sister’s a member of the sheriff’s wife network. Mike has to report everything he does to Bill, doesn’t he?”

“Yes, but…”

“And it won’t be too difficult for you to get a look at those reports, will it?” Hannah interrupted her.

Andrea began to smile. “It won’t be hard at all. Tell Mike yes, and I’ll check the reports so we can keep him honest.”

Michelle manned the whisk while Andrea handed her the ingredients. Hannah chopped the last of the vegetables and as she was chopping, she thought of something she wanted to ask Andrea.

“When Mike interviewed me, he told me that the diamond pinkie ring Gus was wearing was paste, and he thought the Rolex was a fake, too. How about his clothes? Do you think they were fakes?”

“Are you talking about knockoffs?” Andrea asked.

Hannah shrugged, unable to place the word. “I don’t know. What are knockoffs?”

“Designer styles that are copied by other manufacturers, mostly in foreign countries. When Bill and I went to Hawaii, we had a four-hour layover in Los Angeles. The taxi driver took us downtown, and I bought a fake Gucci bag for ten dollars. It even had the logo as part of the brass clasp.”

“You mean the G and the backwards C?” Michelle asked her.

“That’s exactly right. It was a clutch, really cute, and it smelled like real leather.”

“But it wasn’t,” Hannah guessed.

“Bingo!” Andrea pointed her finger at Hannah. “Of course I knew it had to be hot, or a knockoff. Real Gucci bags sell for anywhere from ten to a hundred times that much. But I liked it, and Bill bought it for me.”

“What happened?” Michelle asked.

“Well, the leather smell faded before I even got it home, and the second time I carried it, the clasp fell apart.”

“Why didn’t you have the clasp fixed?” Michelle asked her.

“Maybe I should have, but I didn’t feel like going out of town to have it done.”