Cinnamon Roll Murder (Hannah Swensen, #15)(8)

“How’s Freddy doing?” Hannah asked as they entered the emergency room doors. Ever since the mildly retarded young man had started to work for Doc Knight and his staff at the hospital, he’d seemed more relaxed and cheerful.

“Freddy’s great. He really loves to work, and once he learns how to do something, he never forgets. This place couldn’t run without him. I tell him that every day, and he always gives me that big smile of his and says his mother used to tell him that.” Marlene stopped and gave a little sigh. “And speaking of mothers, I almost forgot to tell you. Yours is here, and she said she wanted to see you right away if you came in. I think she’s in Doc Knight’s office making phone calls to bring in the Rainbow Ladies.”

“Okay. I’ll find her.”

Hannah helped Michelle get beverages and snacks from the vending machines for the two couples, Lynnette, and Buddy. Once she’d made sure they were comfortably settled, she went off in search of her mother.

Delores Swensen had taken over as leader of the group of women now called the Rainbow Ladies, a hospital auxiliary that helped patients fill out paperwork, acted as companions to those who didn’t have family present for their treatments and procedures, visited anyone who didn’t have visitors, read books to patients who were bored with watching television, and generally served as a liaison between patients, family members, and the hospital staff.

The new responsibility their mother had taken on had come as a surprise to all three of her daughters. Hannah, Michelle, and Andrea all knew that their mother was not known for her charity work. Andrea thought that their mother might have become more sympathetic to those less fortunate now that she was older, but Hannah and Michelle still thought there must be another motive. Delores wasn’t a joiner and she certainly wasn’t a do-gooder. There had to be a reason for this sudden change, and they had yet to discover what it was.

Before Delores had taken over this charitable group, it had been known as the Gray Ladies. The gray smocks the women wore were definitely not to their mother’s liking. Delores preferred bright colors, and she immediately indulged her preference. The Gray Ladies, now known as the Rainbow Ladies, wore blazers in their favorite bright color. As the leader of the group, Delores had her choice of colors, and she’d ordered three blazers for herself. Tonight she was wearing one in a bright cherry color, and Hannah spotted her coming out of Doc Knight’s office.

“Hannah!” Delores exclaimed, giving a relieved sigh. “I knew you were driving out to Sally’s tonight and I hoped you and Michelle weren’t involved in that big accident.”

“We weren’t. I managed to turn off at the rest stop just in time.”

“Well! That’s the last time I complain about that rest stop and all the money the state wasted.” Delores gave her eldest daughter a sharp look. “You should have called me immediately. I was worried about you and Michelle.”

“Sorry, Mother. We were busy trying to get to a bus that was overturned in a ditch, and we didn’t even think of it. We didn’t mean to make you worry and we apologize.”

“All right then. I’m just glad you two girls are all right. Tell me about the bus.”

“It was the band bus carrying the Cinnamon Roll Six. The rest of the cars in the accident were blocking the road, and it took the paramedics a while to get to the bus. Michelle and I took the access road and walked across through the ditch. We were the first ones there.”

“Oh, my!”

“The driver’s dead, but everyone else seems to be okay except the keyboard player. He may have a broken wrist, but they won’t know for sure until he has X-rays.”

“Oh, dear! Have you called Sally?”

“No, Mother. Why would I call Sally?”

“To tell her the band bus was in an accident. She’s probably worried because they haven’t shown up.”

Hannah reached for her cell phone, hoping she’d remembered to charge it. “I can call her right now.”

“I’ll do it. You can call her the minute you find out if that keyboard player’s wrist is all right. If the Cinnamon Roll Six can’t play, she’ll have to hire another jazz band.”

“All right, Mother. I’ll do that.”

“Is the rest of the band here at the hospital?”

“I think so.”

“Good. Where are those cinnamon rolls Sally ordered?”

“They’re in my truck.”

“How many do you have?”

“Ten dozen. That’s what she ordered.”

“Come with me,” Delores said and headed back into Doc Knight’s office. She sat down behind his desk, picked up the phone, and punched in a number. “Sally?” she asked when her call was answered. “This is Delores Swensen from the hospital. Your jazz band has been in an accident, a big pileup out on the highway, and they’re here at the hospital. The bus is overturned in a ditch and the driver is dead, but the only other serious injury is that the keyboard player may have a broken wrist. We’ll find out when he has X-rays and Hannah will call to tell you. In the meantime, she has your cinnamon rolls here. Do you want her to pass them out to the band and the other people who were in the accident?”

Delores listened for a moment, and then she gave a little nod. “Of course we’ll heat them, Sally. And I’ll have Hannah tell the rest of the band members that Dick is coming right out to pick them up and bring them to the Inn.”