Carrot Cake Murder (Hannah Swensen, #10)(49)

“No. They have chocolate chips, but they melt when they bake and they’re soft. There’s nothing at all chewy, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“That’s exactly what I’m asking.” Norman set the tray he was carrying down on the round shelf that was attached to the dental chair, and turned to Hannah again. “Excuse us for a couple of minutes. This won’t take long.”

Hannah watched while Norman tilted the chair back, positioned something she assumed was the bridge in Doc Knight’s mouth and held it in place. A minute or so later, he removed his gloved fingers and stepped back.

“Okay,” he said to his patient. “You’re as good as new. I’ll go get those cookies and we’ll all have one.”

The moment Norman left the examining room, Hannah seized her opportunity and moved her chair closer to Doc Knight. “Did the fight have something to do with Emmy dating Gus in the past?” she asked.

“Of course it did.”

Now that Norman had reattached his bridge, Doc answered normally. For a brief second or two, Hannah was thrown for a loop. She’s gotten used to the lisp. “Was it a love triangle?” she asked him.

“Only in Gus’s mind. Emmy loved Jack, and Jack loved her. It was a good marriage, Hannah. Gus was a troublemaker, and he didn’t care who he hurt. To tell the truth, I was relieved when he left town. I felt sorry for his parents. It had to be hard not knowing what had happened to their son, especially since he left like a thief in the night, with no explanation and no goodbyes. I still don’t know which would have been more heartbreaking.”

“Which?”

“The way he left and not knowing why. Or the grief he was bound to cause them if he’d stayed.”

Hannah took a moment to digest Doc’s statement. It was damning, but probably accurate. Doc Knight was a straight shooter, and he didn’t equivocate. But there were more questions to ask, and Norman would be back any moment.

“You said Gus didn’t care who he hurt. Does that mean there were people who hated him?”

Doc thought that over for a second. “I’m sure there were.”

“And some of them were right here in Lake Eden?”

“Oh, yes. I can think of several. You’ve got to understand that the Gus we knew was concerned only about himself. He used people to get what he wanted. And then, when he didn’t need them anymore, he discarded them like old candy wrappers. It was all about Gus, if you know what I mean. He had an ego that wouldn’t quit.”

“I know the type,” Hannah said, remembering the assistant professor she’d dated in college. “Tell me more.”

“Gus was a funny bird, at least that’s what the psychiatric head at the hospital where I did my internship would have called him. I watched Gus grow up. He was in grade school when I was in high school, and it was all in one building. Gus was a manipulator from early on and everybody, including his family, gave him whatever he wanted.”

“Marge and Patsy said he was spoiled.”

“That may be too mild a way to describe it. Spoiled kids usually know better. Most of them know right from wrong, and they’re aware that other children their age aren’t treated the way they are.”

“And you don’t think Gus was aware of that?”

Doc Knight shook his head. “I’m almost sure he wasn’t. Gus grew up with everything he ever wanted. That caused him to be amoral.”

“Amoral?” Of course Hannah knew what the word meant, but she’d never actually heard it applied to someone she knew.

“Yes, amoral. I really don’t think the question of right or wrong ever occurred to him. If Gus wanted something, he got it. And if something bothered him, he got rid of it. That went for material things, and it also went for people. He lived for the moment, and it was all about Gus. Nothing else mattered. I have no idea how many angry people he left in his wake. And even worse…I don’t think Gus did, either.”

“So you weren’t surprised when he turned up dead at the family reunion?”

“Not really.” Doc Knight gave a little shrug. “The big surprise is that it took two days for somebody to do it!”





Chapter Sixteen


“Whoa!” Hannah held up her hands in surrender as Michelle came barreling through the screen door at their mother’s cottage. “Where’s the fire?”

“Andrea’s talking to Bertie Straub on the road, and I wanted to get here before she did.”

“Why?” Hannah picked up the pepper grinder and prepared to grind pepper over the casserole she was preparing.

“Because I’ve got something I have to tell you. I wanted to talk to you yesterday, but every time I tried, you were with someone. And I don’t want anyone else to hear.”

“Not even Andrea?”

“Especially not Andrea!”

Hannah put down the pepper grinder with a thump. “Why?”

“Because she can be kind of…prudish.”

“And I’m not?”

“Maybe a little, but nothing like Andrea! I think it’s because she’s married.”

Hannah thought about that for a moment. “You’d think a married woman would be more sophisticated and worldly than a single woman. What you said seems counterintuitive.”