Cinnamon Roll Murder (Hannah Swensen, #15)(85)

“I guess,” Hannah said, hanging her parka on a hook, divesting herself of the clothes she’d worn to the brunch, and slipping one of the outfits Claire had chosen for her over her head.

“Nice color,” Michelle commented, eyeing the rich turquoise. “I like the fact it’s a pantsuit and you can wear it with dress flats.”

“I don’t have any dress flats.”

“We’ll get some.” Michelle got up to zip the tunic top of Hannah’s outfit. “It looks good on you, Hannah.

“Of course it does. Claire chose it for me. If I ever get rich, I’m going to hire Claire to be my personal fashion consultant.”

“I wonder if Doc will like the cookies I made,” Michelle said. “I wanted give him samples right away, but it seemed wrong to take them in to brunch.”

“We’ll take some out to the hospital in the morning. Mother said they’d be there early, and they can have a couple for breakfast.”

“Just like we did this morning, before we found out we were going to brunch.”

“Right.”

Claire gave a little knock on the dressing room door. “Here she comes. She’s just getting out of her car. I can hardly wait to see her face when she realizes that you’re here. This is going to be fun!”

“Do you get the feeling that Claire doesn’t like her either?” Michelle asked when Claire had left.

“I know for a fact that Claire doesn’t like her. She told me that she thought Doctor Bev was a phony from the word go. She said it was probably uncharitable, and unchristian, and all the other bad un-things, but she never liked Doctor Bev and she never would. And then she said she had half a notion to put a stop to the wedding.”

“How?”

“She said that when Reverend Bob gets to the part, If any person can show just cause why they may not be joined together, let them speak now or forever hold their peace, she wants to stand up and tell Norman he shouldn’t marry Doctor Bev.”

“Claire wouldn’t actually do that, would she?”

“I don’t know. Probably not, but it’s good to know that she feels the same way we do.”

The two sisters fell silent as they heard voices. Claire was greeting Doctor Bev, and Doctor Bev was being her sweet, nice, fake self. At least that’s the way Hannah thought of her now. Sweet by day, strumpet by night, Hannah thought, and unless I’m completely mistaken, Norman isn’t even the strumpee! She could hardly wait to see what Doctor Bev had to say for herself.

“Are you excited about the wedding?” Claire asked, and Hannah tried not to grit her teeth.

“Oh, yes! It’ll be wonderful to have all our friends there. I do hope my mother can make it, but Diana’s been down with the flu. It’s the reason I drove to Minneapolis for the weekend. The poor baby was still running a fever when I left this morning.”

And just how would you know that since you didn’t even bother to see her? Hannah thought exchanging glances with Michelle. Doctor Bev was an accomplished liar. Perhaps it was because she got so much practice lying to everyone in Lake Eden.

“I’m sorry your daughter’s sick,” Claire said, and Hannah heard a garment bag unzip. “Just let me put this dress over your head and we’ll check to make sure the alterations are done correctly.”

“Oh, I’m sure they are if you did them, Claire,” Doctor Bev said sweetly. “I just hope Norman likes this dress. I know it’s bad luck for the groom to see the bridal dress before the wedding, but I’d feel more confident if he had come here with me when I chose it.”

“It’s a beautiful color,” Claire said. “Ice blue looks lovely on you.”

“Thank you. Blue is my favorite color.”

Wrong, Hannah thought frowning deeply. Beige is your favorite color. That’s what you wrote on the Rhodes Dental Clinic website. If you’re going to lie about everything, you’d better keep your lies straight!

There was the sound of another zipper. Claire must be zipping up the back of Doctor Bev’s dress. Hannah stood up, raring to go. The liar was in the box, and it was time for the turquoise-clad detective to interrogate her.

“Just step out and we’ll take a peek in the mirror,” Claire said, and Hannah knew she was about to position Doctor Bev in front of the three-way mirror in the back of the Beau Monde Dress Shop.

“Showtime!” Hannah mouthed.

“Almost,” Michelle mouthed back as she flipped to a blank page in Hannah’s steno pad and picked up the pen.

“Are you ready in there, dear?” Claire called out. “I hope you like the selections I made for you.”

“They’re great,” Hannah said, marching out the door and straight for the ice blue vision in the mirror. “Well hello, Doctor Bev. Fancy meeting you here.”

If ever a woman looked as if she’d just swallowed a cow, it was Doctor Bev. She gaped at Hannah as if she couldn’t believe her own eyes. “What are you doing here?” she asked in a tone that was decidedly unsweet.

“Why I’m looking for an outfit to wear to your wedding. That is, if your wedding is still on.”

“Of course it’s on! What do you mean?”

Once you get them rattled, you’ve got to keep them rattled, Hannah’s mind repeated the advice Mike had once given her about conducting interrogations. “I thought you might be too busy to get married, since your daughter’s so sick. Or perhaps she’s not sick at all. Perhaps you’re too busy because you’re spending time at Club Nineteen.”