Cream Puff Murder (Hannah Swensen, #11)(41)

“I know that.”

“Well, this time Bill had to take off three detectives!”

“Three detectives were personally involved with Ronni?”

“Yes. And that includes Lonnie.”

“Uh-oh,” Hannah breathed. “Michelle’s going to be livid.”

“That’s what I thought. I called her to break it to her gently, but she already knew because Lonnie called her just as soon as it happened. She’s going to take a midterm early and catch the bus this afternoon. It’ll get in at the Quick Stop at five forty-five tonight.”

“Uh-oh. We’d better meet her and check for weapons. She probably wants to grind Lonnie into little pieces and use him for hamburger.”

“Wrong.”

“Wrong?” Hannah stared hard at her sister.

“She told me they were testing their relationship by dating other people.”

Hannah shook her head. “You’re kidding!”

“No, I’m not. Remember at Lisa and Herb’s family reunion when Michelle told us she wanted to be free to date some professor of hers if he asked?”

“I remember.”

“Well, she must have worked that out with Lonnie. At least he felt free enough to take Ronni dancing last Saturday night. And before you say it, I know he’s at least five years younger than she is…I mean five years younger than she was.”

“This isn’t good,” Hannah said, covering her face with her hands. She sat there for a moment, taking it all in, and then she dropped her hands. “So what’s Michelle’s attitude about all this?”

“It was hard to tell. She was hurt. I could hear that in her voice. But she was the one who said they should try dating other people. I really don’t think she expected Lonnie to go out with anybody.”

“That figures. I wouldn’t expect him to go out with anyone, either. I know he loves Michelle. But I suppose she told him she was going to do it, so he felt he had to follow suit. It was probably a case of male pride. Is Michelle going to stay with Mother?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. Mother’s really busy with her business. She told me that the Christmas rush for antiques is already starting at Granny’s Attic, and she’s got all sorts of things to do before her book launch party. She feels she won’t be able to give Michelle the attention she needs, and she told me that she’s not very good at dealing with problems when it comes to affairs of the heart.”

“Affairs of the heart? Is that what Mother said?”

“Yes. I thought it was a nice way of putting it.”

“Doctor Love,” Hannah said.

“On KCOW Radio?”

“Yes,” Hannah affirmed it, and then she got back to the subject at hand. “Michelle is welcome to stay with me.”

“I think that would be best. Bill loves Michelle, but there’s going to be a procedural problem since Lonnie’s a murder suspect.”

“What?!”

“Lonnie admits he went out to Heavenly Bodies after he finished his shift at ten. He wanted to tell Ronni he had to cancel the date they’d made for the movies on Friday night. He told Bill he was only there for twenty minutes or so, but there was something wrong with the security system, and the cameras didn’t record him leaving. He also admitted to Bill that they exchanged angry words about something personal.”

There was that word personal again. Whenever people didn’t want to talk about something, they used that word. It was usually an evasion, an excuse to hide some fact they didn’t want anyone to know. Perhaps Lonnie did have something to hide, but somehow Hannah doubted it.

“Anyway,” Andrea continued, “I came here to tell you that Bill’s also excused himself from the case.”

Hannah’s mouth dropped open and she clicked it shut again. “But what’s going to happen if all the top detectives are off the case?”

“He’s got two guys who just passed the detective exam, but they’ve never worked an actual case before. Bill figures they can do some of the legwork, but he needs someone to direct the investigation. He’s calling in Stella Parks from the Cities to take Mike’s place temporarily. She’s coming in tonight.”

“Who’s Stella Parks?”

“She heads up the detective division that Mike used to run in Minneapolis. He worked with her and recommended her for the job when he left. Bill met her when he went to that law enforcement conference in Miami. He says she’s tough as nails, brave as a lion, and she has a mind like a steel trap.”

“That’s three clichés in a row. Does she deserve them?”

“I think so. Bill talked about her, and I got the impression that she’s a real force, if you know what I mean.”

Hannah knew exactly what her sister meant. If Detective Parks was that tough, she might be able to handle the case. She’d check with Mike to find out more about her. But Stella Parks wasn’t the issue, now. Her main concern was Andrea and how she felt about Bill’s excusing himself from the case.

“So are you upset about Bill?” Hannah asked, wondering if she should duck just in case Andrea threw something.

“Of course I am, especially since he doesn’t have an alibi.”

“He wasn’t home with you?”