Chocolate Cream Pie Murder (Hannah Swensen #24)(22)

“No!” Hannah told him, matching his icy tone. “What I want is for you to get out of my life . . . permanently!”

He reached out for her and Hannah leaped back into the warm interior of the kitchen. She slammed the door in his face and turned the deadbolt. And then she somehow made her way to the stool at the work station. Her legs were shaking so violently, they collapsed the moment she reached a stool.

It might have been a matter of moments or much longer than that. Hannah had no way of knowing. She drifted in and out of fear so intense, she might have lost consciousness. Dimly, almost as if it were a dream, she was aware of the front door opening and the sound of footsteps heading toward the kitchen.

“Hannah?”

Lisa! Hannah began to breathe again. She hadn’t been aware that she had been holding her breath. She did her best to look up, but she couldn’t quite focus on Lisa’s face.

“Hannah! Are you all right?”

Lisa’s hand was on her shoulder and Hannah forced herself to concentrate. “No,” she said in a voice that was still shaking with fear.

“What’s wrong? Are you sick?”

“Call Mike.” Hannah forced out the words. “Call now! He’s back and he’s going to kill me!”

*

She had managed to drink several swallows of water by the time Mike rushed through the door. “Mike,” she said in a small voice. “He’s back.”

“Okay. Just relax, Hannah. Nobody’s going to hurt you as long as I’m around. You’re safe with me.”

“Yes,” Hannah said, and she could feel herself begin to relax. “I’m safe now. Sorry, Mike. I just . . . lost it for a minute or two. I’m better now that you’re here.”

“Good. You should be. I’m armed.”

He reached out to give her a little pat on the back and Hannah managed a smile. “Which arm will you use?”

Mike laughed. “You cracked a joke and I can tell that you’re better now. You had me scared, Hannah. Your face was so pale, I thought you were going to faint.”

“I might have,” Hannah admitted. “There was a kind of reddish haze over everything when I got back inside, and I put my head down. I don’t know how long it was before Lisa came in the front door.”

“You had a panic attack,” Mike decided, patting her back again. “I’m assuming you ran into Ross?”

Hannah nodded. “He knocked on the back door and I thought it was a delivery. I opened it without asking who was there. I should have known better.”

“Yes, you should have. And I’m having Lonnie install a peephole as soon as he gets to the station.” Mike pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and sent a quick text to Lonnie. Then he turned to Lisa. “Do you have any orange juice? She still looks a little rattled.”

“That’s from the loose screws in my head,” Hannah quipped. “I should have known better than to open the door, especially since I didn’t recognize the knock.”

“True, but we all make mistakes.” Mike watched Lisa pour a glass of orange juice and walk over to hand it to Hannah. “Can you hold this glass?” he asked her.

“Yes. I’m not shaking as much now.” Hannah grabbed the glass and took a big swallow of orange juice. “I’m feeling better, Mike.”

“That’s what all the ladies say around me. Drink more, Hannah. You need the sugar.”

“It’s the first time in my life that anyone’s told me I need sugar.” Hannah took another swallow. “He said he’d hurt me if I didn’t give him the money that was in the safe deposit box.”

Mike nodded. “That figures. Where’s the money?”

“Back in his bank account. Doug deposited it for me. And I put back the money Ross deposited in my account, too.”

“That must have made him mad, especially since the bank won’t be open today.”

Hannah just stared at Mike in shock. “It won’t?”

“No.”

“Why not? It’s not a bank holiday, is it?”

“No, but the wind was so strong, it blew in a couple of windows and there’s glass all over the floor and the counters. Doug and Cliff managed to get down there to board up the windows, but there was a lot of damage done. They’ve been working on it, but they don’t expect to open for business again until Monday morning.”

Hannah began to frown. “I didn’t know anything about the damage and I didn’t drive past the bank when I came in to work this morning. I told Ross he’d have to go there today if he wanted to get his money. And now he won’t be able to do that! He’s going to think that I was lying to him and he’s going to be even more furious with me!”

Hannah felt herself begin to shake with fear again, and she did her best to stop. Even though she knew she was safe now with Mike and Lisa here, she couldn’t help thinking about what might happen if she encountered Ross alone.

“You’re okay, Hannah,” Lisa said, sitting down on the other side of Hannah and giving her a hug. “You’re safe with both of us here, and maybe it’s a good thing that the bank is closed. Since he can’t get his money, Ross won’t be back before Monday.”

“But how will Ross know that the bank is closed today?” Hannah asked. “He could be standing outside the building right now, waiting for the bank to open.”