Cinnamon Roll Murder (Hannah Swensen, #15)(25)

There was a moment of silence. Then all three sisters turned to stare at their mother in shock.

“Cookies for breakfast?!” Michelle was the first to recover enough to ask.

“You never let us have cookies for breakfast when we were kids,” Andrea complained.

Hannah gave her mother a searching look. “Don’t tell me we finally managed to convince you that cookies are breakfast food!”

“Of course not. But some cookies are more acceptable than others. Delores gave all three of them a smug smile. “Lisa told me that Short Stack Cookies taste just like pancakes. And pancakes are perfect for breakfast.”





Chapter Nine


After Lisa’s Short Stack cookies were eaten and everyone had declared them delicious, Delores cleared her throat.

“I have something to discuss with you girls,” she said, looking very serious.

“I’ll just go out in the coffee shop,” Lisa said, getting to her feet. “It’s almost time to set up the tables.”

Delores held up her hand. “Don’t leave. This concerns you, too. I just want to make sure that you’re all going to help investigate Buddy Neiman’s murder. I need to know who did it as soon as possible.”

Hannah was puzzled. “Why is that, Mother? You told me last night that you never met him. Until you found him dead, that is.”

“And that’s true. But I spoke to Doc at the hospital this morning, and he said they’re all at sixes and sevens.”

Hannah knew what that phrase meant. She’d read it in one of her mother’s Kathryn Kirkwood Regency romances.

“Doc actually put it that way?” It was obvious that Andrea had read the books too, or she wouldn’t have asked the question.

“Yes, he said that. He loves to read my romances. As a matter of fact, he’s going to help me with my next book.”

“Doc’s going to help you write your Regencies?” Michelle’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.

“No, but he’s going to do some research on the healing arts in Regency England for me. He wants me to be accurate when it comes to medical things.”

“Why is the whole hospital at sixes and sevens?” Hannah asked, pulling them back to business.

“Because it’s a murder scene. Doc says that’s not very good for business.”

The four women just stared at Delores. None of them knew how to respond.

“Doc was joking. Hospitals don’t solicit business. They provide a community service. But then he got serious and he said he wished that whoever stabbed Buddy Neiman had used a different murder weapon.”

“Why?” Andrea asked.

“The sheriff’s department detectives are still out there interviewing anyone who had access to those scissors. And unfortunately, that includes everyone who was at the hospital last night.”

“But how could just anyone have access?” Andrea asked her. “Aren’t surgical scissors just used in the operating room?”

“Not necessarily,” Delores explained. “There’s a pair of sterile surgical scissors in every treatment room. And the treatment rooms aren’t locked.”

Hannah went to the drawer, took out a new stenographer’s notebook, and grabbed a pen. Delores was giving her new information and that meant it was time to write it down in the notebook she called her murder book. She flipped to the first page and turned to her mother. “So it could have been someone on the staff who took them, or even someone who was walking down the hall and saw the opportunity.”

“Exactly.”

“Or another patient could have taken them,” Lisa suggested.

“You’re right, Lisa. Or it could have been someone from a patient’s family. Or ...” Michelle paused, looking worried. “Or anyone who came out to the hospital last night and volunteered to help ... like the Rainbow Ladies, or like us.”

Hannah turned to her mother. “Do you know if they’re keeping everyone in the hospital until they can question them?”

“Not everyone, but they took names and addresses. And I heard Mike tell Dick Laughlin that everyone on the band bus had to stay put at the Lake Eden Inn until he said they could leave.”

“This is probably inappropriate under the circumstances, but do you know if the band is going to play tonight?” Lisa asked. “Dad and Marge planned to drive out there to have dinner and hear them.”

“How could they play?” Andrea answered her. “ Unless they can find a substitute, they won’t have anyone on keyboards.”

Michelle looked thoughtful. “You’re right. I wonder if ...”

Hannah turned to her sister when she stopped speaking. “You wonder what?”

Michelle gave a little shrug. “I just had an idea, that’s all. It’s nothing. Really.”

Hannah stared hard at her youngest sister. She was sure that the idea wasn’t nothing. There was definitely something on Michelle’s mind. Hannah was just getting ready to ask her about it again when Delores stood up.

“I’d better go. I want to run out to the hospital and tell Doc that you’re already working on the murder case. You are, aren’t you?”

“We are,” Andrea replied, patting her briefcase-sized purse. “I’ve got the crime scene photos right here.”