Cream Puff Murder (Hannah Swensen, #11)(32)

Even though her feline friend hadn’t been sprawled on his back on the rug groaning, Hannah had still called his vet. It just couldn’t be good for Moishe to eat that much food! But once she’d answered several questions that Dr. Bob had asked about Moishe’s behavior, he’d assured her that once the novelty of unlimited food without human intervention had worn off, Moishe’s eating habits would return to normal.

It was cold this morning, five below zero according to Jake and Kelly on KCOW Radio, and Hannah wished she’d asked Andrea to pick her up. Her sister’s Volvo had heated seats, a welcome luxury in the Minnesota winter. She wondered, idly, how much it would cost to install them in her cookie truck but decided it would probably be several times more than she could afford.

The radio helped her to keep her mind off the cold. Hannah listened to one more pseudo news item on The News at O’Dark-Thirty, something about a pet horse who came inside the farmhouse whenever he smelled cookies baking. That didn’t sound so unusual to Hannah, especially if the cookies were carrot cookies. And thinking about carrot cookies reminded her that she’d promised to bake Terry’s Carrot Cake Cookies for Grandma Knudson, who was trying to convince her grandson, the reverend, that they were an excellent way for him to get his vegetables.

Another fifteen shivery minutes later, and Hannah arrived at the Tri-County Mall. She had a standing appointment to meet Andrea so that they could do their workout routine before class started. She pulled up by the back door at Heavenly Bodies, greeted Andrea, who was just pulling into a parking space, and they went in together.



The only good thing about exercising early in the morning was the absence of noise. The incessant beat of the workout music, the buzz of conversation, the clatter of weights, and the occasional grunt and groan were silenced. The only sound was her own labored breathing as she went through her exercise routine.

Never a big fan of muscle aches and pains, Hannah found this morning’s workout particularly grueling. Perhaps it was because Andrea performed every bend and stretch so effortlessly. She even made her mile on the machine Hannah had nicknamed the Walk to Nowhere look like fun.

“So how’s Moishe’s feeder working out?” Andrea asked, not a whit out of breath despite the fact she was currently duplicating the rigors of cross-country skiing.

“Fine,” Hannah answered, choosing a one-syllable word so that her sister couldn’t hear her pant. They could talk about the fact that Moishe’s feeder was working a little too well later, when she could breathe.

“How long has it been now? Two days?”

“Yes.”

“And he hasn’t pried the tops off yet?”

“No.”

“Well, give him time. He’s defeated every other attempt you’ve made to regulate his food.”

“Right.” Even though she’d uttered only one syllable, Hannah gasped a bit. Luckily, Andrea didn’t seem to notice. Perhaps it was because she’d increased the resistance on her skiing simulator. Hannah could see the little graphic that showed her sister skiing up a thirty percent slope. That was twenty-eight percent steeper than anything Hannah had attempted.

Andrea was silent, and Hannah was grateful. It gave her time to catch her breath. This twenty-minute workout wouldn’t be so bad if she had half the morning to do it. Unfortunately, they were pressed for time. Ronni Ward would be arriving soon for their Classic Body Sculpting class, and that wasn’t a pleasant thought.

“You’re through, Hannah,” Andrea announced, stepping off her ski simulator and taking a seat on what looked like a stationary bike.

“I am?” Hannah slowed to a halt. She’d been so busy thinking about how much she disliked Ronni, the last five minutes of her workout had practically flown past. She glanced up at the clock on the wall and then turned to her sister. “We’ve got twenty-five minutes until class. Do you want me to get you something cold to drink?”

“That sounds good.” Andrea gave a little sigh. “Class used to be fun, but now I’m dreading it. I really wish that Ronni was out of the picture.”

“Me, too. Do you want to skip class today?”

“No way. If we skip, she’s won. And I won’t give her the satisfaction. Just get our drinks and go relax by the pool. I’ll join you as soon as I finish.”

Hannah headed off at a fast clip before her sister changed her mind and thought of other exercises that she should do. Since no one was manning the counter at the Snack Shack, the large area with a fountain in the center surrounded by scores of round tables for eating, drinking and socializing, she fed quarters into a vending machine to get a bottle of zero-carb, zero-calorie strawberry-flavored water for Andrea and a bottle of zero-carb, zero-calorie peach-flavored water for herself. Then she headed down the red-carpeted hallway to the Aqua Therapy room.

The scent of chlorine rolled out to greet her as Hannah opened the door to the area containing the pool and the Jacuzzi. There was the stale odor of sweat in the air, and despite the antiperspirant she’d slathered on earlier, Hannah suspected that she might be contributing to the aroma. Whatever the cause, it was certain that the plug-in room fresheners, specifically designed to mask unpleasant odors, failed to triumph over the potent mix.

The pool looked inviting, with wooden deck chairs arranged in patterns at the shallow end and potted trees dotting the periphery. Hannah removed her shoes and socks and took a seat on the concrete lip of the pool so that she could dangle her feet in the water. They were sore after her trek on the motorized belt of the Walk to Nowhere machine. The pool heater had just kicked in. The pool wouldn’t reach the proper temperature until Aqua Therapy classes started at noon, but that didn’t matter to Hannah. The cold felt good. She opened her bottle of water, took a sip, and sat there feeling righteous about finishing her workout.