Chocolate Cream Pie Murder (Hannah Swensen #24)(45)

“It’s possible.” Mike gave a little shrug. “Criminals often change their names when they go to new locations. For all we know, Ross’s real name could be John Jones, or something ordinary like that.”

“But don’t most people keep their initials? Ross had personalized velveteen lounge suits with the initials RB on them. He loved those outfits and he wore them all the time when he was home with me.”

“There are a lot of names that begin with those initials, Hannah,” Lonnie pointed out. “Ross could have been Robert Barnes, or Ralph Burns. Just look in a big-city phone book and you’ll find a bunch of people with the initials RB.”

Hannah nodded. “You’re probably right, Lonnie. It’s just that . . . I’ve never encountered anyone who went by multiple names before.”

“You might have encountered some without knowing it,” Mike told her. “Most con men change their names when they travel from place to place. That makes it more difficult for the authorities to track them.”

“Yes, I know about things like that, but I never thought that . . .” Hannah stopped and swallowed hard. “I hate to think I got taken in by someone like that. I thought that since I’d known Ross in college and he used the same name then, he was the man I knew from before!”

Mike looked thoughtful. “I think I’d better give Lynne Larchmont a call. I’d like to find out if Ross, or Russ, or whoever he really is ever threatened her.”

“Lynne told me that she had bruises from the time he grabbed her,” Hannah told him. “I had dinner with her last night.”

Mike turned to Lonnie. “You stick with Michelle tonight. I don’t want her going out to Hannah’s condo alone. Stop at the Corner Tavern or Bertanelli’s Pizza and use the department credit card to pick up takeout for dinner.” He turned back to Hannah. “Call Lynne and ask her if she’s free for dinner tonight. If she is, tell her that both of you have a dinner date tonight courtesy of the chief detective from the Winnetka County Sheriff’s Department.”

*

“It’s really good to see you again, Mike.” Lynne smiled across the table at Mike. “And, Hannah . . . two nights in a row! I’m blessed.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to see your husband, Lynne,” Mike told her. “I only met him briefly when you were in town for the movie, but he seemed like a really nice guy.”

“He is,” Lynne said. “I’m sorry he’s gone on business, but something important came up and he had to take care of it.”

Right, Hannah thought. And it must have been more important than your marriage or he wouldn’t have left just when you two were trying to work things out.

“I’m sorry to bring up a subject that might be uncomfortable for you,” Mike faced Lynne across the table, “but I really need to know more about your engagement to Ross when you were in college.”

Lynne looked slightly surprised, but she nodded. “Okay. What do you want to know?”

“What name was he going by then?”

“Ross Barton. He said his father had shortened his last name. It used to be Bartonovitch, but he didn’t think that was American enough.”

Mike nodded. “That makes sense, and it was certainly easier to spell when Ross got into school and had to write it on his homework.”

Lynne laughed. “That’s what Ross told me. He said he was grateful that his father had changed it.”

Mike pulled his notebook out of his shirt pocket. “I have just a couple of other questions if that’s okay.”

“It’s okay. What would you like to know?”

“During your relationship with Ross, was he ever violent toward you personally?”

It took Lynne a minute to answer. “Yes, I told Hannah about it last night. It’s the reason I called off our engagement. Ross was angry at me over something. Now I don’t even remember what it was. And he hit me. Hard.”

“How hard?”

“Hard enough to give me a black eye. And then he grabbed me and shook me so hard, I thought that one of my arms was broken.”

Hannah could feel the room start to spin around her. Lynne had told her about her bruises the preceding night, but she’d had no idea that Ross had actually done that!

“What did you do when Ross attacked you?” Mike asked.

“I hit him with a pot I had on the stove and ran out of the apartment and down the stairs to the street. I was holding my arm and one of my friends saw me outside. She asked me what happened and I said I thought I’d broken my arm and I needed a ride to the hospital.”

“And your arm was broken?” Mike asked her.

“No, they took X-rays and found my shoulder was dislocated. They popped it back into place and kept me overnight. They asked me if I wanted to press charges and I said I didn’t.”

“Why?” Mike asked her.

“Because I wasn’t hurt that badly. The black eye would heal and they’d already fixed my dislocated shoulder. And I knew the bruises he’d given me when he grabbed me would fade.”

“What happened after that?” Hannah asked, a question she hadn’t asked the previous night.

“When I got back to the apartment the next day, Ross was gone, along with all of his things. He’d left a note saying that he was very sorry, but he thought it was best if we didn’t see each other again.”