Cream Puff Murder (Hannah Swensen, #11)(42)

“He was home, but not until almost three in the morning. He told me that he was driving around checking on a backlog of skip traces. You know what skip traces are, don’t you?”

“I think so. People who have a court date but don’t show up?”

“That’s right. A couple of bail bond companies contract with the sheriff’s department to locate the skip traces and bring them in. The department gets paid for every skip trace they apprehend, and that gives them extra revenue. They use the skip trace money for additional overtime, and personal equipment, and things like that.”

“Did Bill find any skip traces?”

“No, and that’s the problem. Nobody was home. And that means he doesn’t have an alibi.”

“But not having an alibi doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re a suspect.”

“That’s true.”

“You need a motive to be a suspect. I mean, somebody would have had to see Bill with her in a compromising situation before…” Hannah stopped abruptly as tears welled up in Andrea’s eyes. “No!”

“Yes. Bill says it was nothing, that they walked out of Heavenly Bodies together about a week ago. The wind was blowing, and Ronni got something in her eye when he was walking her to her car. Bill leaned over her to see if he could tell what it was. He didn’t even think about how it would look to anyone passing by, but someone saw them and drew the wrong conclusion.”

Hannah got up and gave her sister a big hug. “It’s okay, Andrea. I’m sure it happened exactly the way Bill said it did.”

“So am I but I wouldn’t put it past Ronni to do something like that deliberately to cause trouble between Bill and me. That’s why I want you to solve the case fast and prove that my Bill had nothing to do with it.”





Chapter Fourteen




“Espionage is thirsty work,” Norman said, as Hannah opened the back door at The Cookie Jar.

“I’ve got coffee.”

“Coffee’s good.” Norman stepped inside the kitchen and gave her a hug.

It felt so good to be in Norman’s arms that Hannah just stayed there for a long moment. She felt safe and secure, and very loved. She also wondered whether she felt thinner to him. Of course it had only been a couple of days and a weight loss that Norman could notice by just hugging her was unlikely. Not only that, it didn’t really matter. She didn’t have to lose weight to attract Norman. He loved her just the way she was.

“That was nice,” Norman said, smiling down at her as she stepped back, out of their embrace.

“Yes, it was.” Hannah gave him an answering smile. “Have a seat and I’ll pour some coffee for you.”

“Hi, Andrea,” Norman greeted her as he took the adjoining stool.

“Hi, Norman. What’s all this about espionage?”

“Oh, um…” Norman glanced at Hannah for help.

“You can tell her. Andrea’s going to be helping us investigate. So is Michelle. She’ll be coming in on the bus around six, and she’s staying in my guest room.”

“I’ll pick her up and bring her out to your condo. How about Chinese? We can stop for that on the way. And after we eat, we can discuss the case.”

“Sounds good.” Hannah turned to Andrea. “Can you join us?”

“Sure. Bill has to stay late to meet Detective Parks and hand over the paperwork. Now what’s all this about espionage?”

“I’m delivering messages from Mike to Hannah about how to work the case. He had to promise not to contact her, not even by phone.”

“Bill told me about that.” Andrea turned to Hannah with a frown. “And you’re letting Mike tell you what to do?”

“Of course not, but I’m not discounting his advice out of hand. He’s a trained professional, and he might come up with something that would help us catch the killer.”

Andrea glanced at Norman. “How do you feel about delivering these messages from Mike?”

“It’s a little strange. I write them down so I get them right. I don’t want to put my own spin on something Mike wants me to say to Hannah.”

“Good idea. I’ll do that, too.”

“You’re going to write down Mike’s messages?” Hannah asked, thoroughly confused.

“No, I’m going to write down Bill’s messages. I’m supposed to be a go-between, too. Bill can’t ask you for help directly. That would be undermining the official investigation. I’m supposed to tell you what he says about solving Ronni’s murder.”

“So I’m expected to be a marionette detective with Bill and Mike pulling the strings?”

There was silence for a moment, and then Andrea spoke. “I think that’s what Bill wants,” she said.

“And I think that’s what Mike wants,” Norman concurred.

“Well then, I guess it’s a good thing they can’t even call me on the phone.”

“Why’s that?” Andrea asked her.

“Because I won’t have to waste time hanging up on both of them!”



“Something smells good,” Lisa pushed through the swinging door that separated the coffee shop from the kitchen.