Chocolate Cream Pie Murder (Hannah Swensen #24)(83)

“Does that mean that I’m a suspect?” Hannah asked, even though she knew she wasn’t.

“No! Not at all! You were with Norman and he’s corroborated that. It’s just that you don’t have to help to catch Ross’s killer. There’s no reason for you to do that for him.”

“Well, I’m going to investigate anyway and I’m not doing it for Ross. I’m doing it for me!”

Mike stared at her for a moment and then he gave a resigned sigh. “I knew nothing I could say would do any good,” he said in such a sorrowful tone that Hannah came close to feeling a bit sorry for him. “I wish you wouldn’t get involved, Hannah. I just wish you’d . . . go on vacation or something. Go somewhere else and try to forget you ever met the guy.”

Hannah knew that Mike was only trying to help her, but she held firm. “Thanks, Mike, but I have to stay here. I can’t go off to Aruba, or somewhere when I don’t know who killed Ross and why he was murdered. I have to help you find out and I have to do it for myself.”

Mike thought about that for a moment and then he sighed again. “All right. I guess there’s nothing I can say to change your mind.”

“That’s right. So are we going to work together? Or will I be forced to leave you in the dust?”

The silence between them was much longer this time, but finally Mike nodded. “My dad used to say that if you can’t beat ’em, you might as well join ’em.”

“Your father was a wise man,” Hannah said, getting up from her stool to freshen Mike’s coffee and fill a plate with cookies. “Here you go,” she said, setting the plate in front of him. “I don’t suppose you have the autopsy report in yet.”

Mike took a cookie and bit into it. Then he sipped his coffee. “I have it,” he said at last. “What do you want to know?”

“The time of death,” Hannah said, hoping that her voice was as strong as she wanted it to be.

“Doc says between noon and five p.m.”

“What time did you get to my condo?”

“A little after three. The door was standing open so I knew right away that something was wrong.”

“And you noticed that Moishe was missing?”

Mike nodded. “At first I figured that he was under the bed, but when I looked, he wasn’t there. And since the closet was open, I could see that he wasn’t hiding in there either.”

Hannah shivered slightly, imagining the scene when Mike had arrived at her condo. “Did you look for Moishe?”

“Not right then. I couldn’t. I called Lonnie and when he got there, I sent him out to search for Moishe.”

“You didn’t go with him?”

“I couldn’t. I had to stay with . . .” Mike hesitated, and Hannah knew he was searching for words that would have less emotional impact than using Ross’s name. “I positioned myself at your bedroom doorway,” he continued, “and I called Doc from there. He got there in less than twenty minutes and your mother came, too.”

“But you didn’t let Mother come upstairs, did you?”

“No. Doc told her to stay outside and help Lonnie search for Moishe.”

Hannah thought about Mike standing guard at her bedroom doorway, waiting there for Lonnie and Doc to arrive. She had been in his position before, staying at the scene of a murder and waiting for Mike to arrive. She knew exactly how difficult it was to stay there, not touching anything that might turn out to be evidence, and doing nothing but thinking about what had happened to the victim.

“Don’t you ever wish you did something else like working at a desk job instead of what you do now?” she asked him.

“Sometimes. Murder scenes are always bad and some are worse than others. But after the coroner and the crime scene guys get there, I can start my real work.”

“Catching the murderer?”

“Yes. There’s real satisfaction when I solve a case and catch a killer.”

Hannah thought about that and she gave a little nod of agreement. “I understand perfectly. And I really hope we’re successful this time.”

“We will be. I won’t stop working until I get him. Or her.”

“Do you think the killer could be a woman?”

“Maybe. I never rule anything out.” Mike took another cookie and devoured it. “What else do you want to know from me, Hannah?”

“I’d like to know why my closet doors were open. I distinctly remember closing them before I left for work.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m positive. One door was stuck and it wouldn’t close until I pulled out one of Moishe’s mouse toys that had gotten stuck in the track. I tossed it to him and he ran out to the living room to hide it there.”

“You don’t suppose Moishe could have . . .” Mike stopped speaking in mid-thought. “No, of course he couldn’t have pulled all those clothes and boxes out into the bedroom.”

“I knew what you were thinking and you’re right. Moishe couldn’t have done it, not if there were boxes pulled out on the floor. I had things that were packed in boxes, but the boxes were all on the top closet shelf.”

“Okay. If you’re sure you closed the closet doors, then either the victim or his killer was looking for something hidden in your closet. You didn’t leave any boxes of clothes on the bedroom floor, did you?”