Carrot Cake Murder (Hannah Swensen, #10)(62)

“Tell you what?”

“That Moishe acted up again. I thought the Kitty Kondo did the trick.”

“I think it did do the trick. He certainly enjoyed playing with the mouse this morning. And the fact that I lost sleep last night has nothing to do with Moishe. It’s Mother’s fault.”

“Your mother called you in the middle of the night?”

“No, she gave me a deadline for Jack’s Red Velvet Cookies, and I promised to do my best to have them by tonight. When I got home last night, I researched them and mixed up three different test batches. I didn’t get to bed until midnight, and Moishe started playing with the squeaky mouse at four in the morning, a minute or two before my alarm went off.”

“But he didn’t tear up any pillows or race around inside your bathtub?”

“No. I’m beginning to think you were right, Norman, and he was acting up because he was bored.”

Once Norman had hugged her and they’d said their goodbyes, Hannah started to pick up paper dessert plates and put them in the trash. In the space of fifteen minutes, the picnic tables had been wiped down and the dishes had been scraped and put into the dishwashers. Hannah was more than ready to drive home and go to bed, but there was one more thing she had to do first.

It took a while to find Lisa. Hannah finally spotted her alone at a picnic table under a pine tree. No doubt her partner wanted to be alone to think about what Mac had told them, but thinking alone wouldn’t solve the problem.

“Lisa?” she said, sitting down across from her partner.

“What is it?”

Lisa’s voice sounded thick, as if she’d been crying, but Hannah didn’t mention that. “I need to talk to your dad for a minute,” she said. “Do you think you could find us a nice quiet spot?”

“He’s in a nice quiet spot right now. Herb took him back to the cottage so they could watch what’s left of the ballgame. The Twins had a doubleheader with the Angels today.”

“Will he mind if I interrupt him?”

“He won’t mind. It’s probably over by now, anyway.” Lisa got up and led the way. “Are you going to ask him questions about the night of the murder?”

“Yes. I need as much background as I can get. Don’t worry, Lisa. I’ll do my best not to upset him.”

“I don’t think you’ll upset him. You never have before. And I know that he really likes you.”

Lisa opened the screen door and they stepped into the small cottage where Jack and Marge were staying. “Hi, Dad,” she greeted her father with a kiss on the cheek, and then moved over to Herb. “How did the ballgame go?”

“Twins won the first, but the Angels won the second,” Herb told her.

“Oh, well.” Lisa sat down next to her father. “Hannah needs to ask you some questions, Dad. Herb and I are going to leave you with her for a couple of minutes. Hannah’s our good friend, and you can tell her anything, okay?”

“Okay.” Jack nodded and watched his daughter walk off. “She’s a good girl,” he said.

“Yes, she is. You’re lucky to have her, and she’s lucky to have you.” Hannah moved a little closer to keep his attention and asked her first question. “Is it possible you went for a walk on Sunday night after the dance?”

“Yes, it’s possible. It was the first night in a different bed. I always sleep better at home, you know.”

“And you might have gone for a walk if you couldn’t sleep?” Hannah asked him.

“I might have…Hannah. It’s Hannah, isn’t it?”

“That’s right. You remembered!”

Jack shrugged. “It comes and goes. I just try not to get too…what’s the word that’s the opposite of calm, Harriet?”

Hannah resisted the urge to correct him. “Agitated? Frustrated?”

“Both of those. If I stay quiet, I’ve got a better shot at remembering. Say, Helen…he wasn’t shot, was he?”

“No, he was stabbed with an ice pick.”

“Too bad. If he’d been shot, I’d be in the clear.”

“Really?”

“That’s right. Emmy wouldn’t let me have a gun in the house. She was always afraid the kids would get hold of it and shoot each other, or some such thing. And now my little girl’s a trophy winner in that cowboy game with Herb. Life’s iron…iron…what’s the word?”

“Ironic?”

“That’s it. Life’s ironic, Hazel.”

“It’s Hannah,” Hannah corrected him before she could think better of it.

“I know you’re Hannah. I just wanted to see how many times I could call you the wrong name before you corrected me. That must have just about killed you!”

Hannah gave him a startled glance and then she started to laugh. “You’re like the guy who got a hearing aid and didn’t tell his family he was wearing it.”

“And changed his will a dozen times,” Jack finished the old joke. “You’d be surprised what I remember and what I don’t. There’s no rhyme or…whatever that other R word is…to it. Sometimes a smell will spark something I haven’t thought of in years. And other times it’s something I eat, or a car I see in an old movie, or an antique around the house.”