Carrot Cake Murder (Hannah Swensen, #10)(58)

“Okay. What do you want me to do now?”

“Just drop down on the other side and unlock the gate. The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can get back out to the lake.”

Norman gave a brief nod and dropped down. Hannah noticed that he landed lightly on the balls of his feet, the exact opposite of what would have happened if she’d jumped from that height. She watched him head for the gate at an easy trot, and she was impressed. Norman had never been in bad physical shape, but he appeared to be more agile and fit than he’d ever been before.

“Got it!” Norman called out, opening the gate for her.

“You picked the lock that fast?”

“Not really. It wasn’t locked.”

“Sorry about that.” Hannah stepped inside and watched as he shut it again. “I should have thought to check it before I asked you to climb over. And speaking of that climb you made, have you been working out?”

“You noticed!” Norman looked pleased. “I’ve been swimming out at the new fitness club. They’ve got a lap pool. You should come out with me sometime. Members can bring a guest.”

“Are you talking about Heavenly Bodies at the mall?” Hannah guessed. And when Norman nodded, she was almost tempted to give it a try. But then she remembered that her old swimsuit didn’t fit her anymore. That meant she’d have to try on suits in a department store fitting room, and that was always depressing.

“Do you want to split up to look for the car, or do it together?”

“Together, but separate,” Hannah said, enjoying the apparent contradiction. “Let’s do what the police do when they search for something in the woods.”

“Walk forward in parallel and meet at a designated point?”

“Exactly. That way you’ll hear me if I spot it, and I’ll hear you if you do. Let’s pick a starting point and walk straight down the rows. Then we’ll meet at the fence in back and start up another two rows.”

It took three rows out of what must have been at least twenty, but they lucked out. Norman called out from the middle of his row, and Hannah darted between the cars to join him. She found him standing next to Gus Klein’s Jaguar with a smile on his face. “This has got to be it. It’s probably the only Jaguar in the lot.”

“It’s the one Gus was driving,” Hannah confirmed it, “And there’s the jacket I remembered.”

“Linen,” Norman commented. “I think that’s the same one he was wearing when he drove up in front of the church.”

“Mother said he wore it to the brunch he hosted at the Lake Eden Inn. He must have hung it up so that it wouldn’t wrinkle for the drive to the lake.”

Norman stepped up to the window, pressed his nose to the glass, and peered in. When he stopped back, he was shaking his head. “I don’t think so,” he said.

“Why not?”

“Because his pants and shirt are there, too. They’re hanging behind the jacket. And I really don’t think he drove out to the lake in his underwear.”

Hannah and Norman stood there staring at the expensive linen suit. For long moments, the only sounds were the humming of insects and the far-off drone of cars on the highway.

“This just doesn’t make sense,” Hannah said at last. “Gus changed clothes at the cottage. His suitcase was open on the bed. And the closet was right there, no more than three or four steps away. I just can’t figure out why Gus went outside and hung his suit up in his car.”

Hannah smiled across the picnic table at Norman. “It was so nice of you to make Clara and Marguerite’s Mexican Hotdish for Jack’s birthday party.”

“Maybe not. You haven’t tasted it yet. I doubled the spice. Marguerite says it’s even better that way. She felt so bad about not being able to bake it for Lisa and Herb’s family reunion, and I volunteered to do it for her.”

“That was really nice of you, Norman.”

“It was fun, and really easy. Taste it and tell me what you think.”

Hannah took a bite and smiled. “It’s excellent, but it’s a little spicier than I remember.”

“Then Clara must have made it the night you went over there for dinner. She uses only one packet of taco seasoning. When Marguerite makes it, she uses two packets.”

“The sour cream on the side is a nice touch.”

“That’s a little trick I picked up in Puerto Vallarta. We went to a place that was famous for its fish tacos and they were too spicy for Bev. The waitress brought her some sour cream to cut the heat.”

“That’s nice to know,” Hannah said, referring to the sour cream, not to the fact that Norman had taken his ex-fiancée, Beverly Thorndike, to Mexico.

“We should go sometime. You’d love it down there. We could stay at the La Jolla de Mismaloya resort.”

“Isn’t that the location John Huston used in The Night of the Iguana?” she couldn’t resist asking.

“That’s right. Of course it’s all modern and restored now, but they really did a good job of keeping the original ambience.”

“Nice,” Hannah said, deciding that one-word responses were best. She really didn’t care to hear much more about Norman’s Mexican vacation with Beverly.

“They run the movie continuously in the bar. The first night Bev and I were there, we sat through it twice.”