Cream Puff Murder (Hannah Swensen, #11)(51)

“I’m not helping them officially, but I do want to do my part,” Hannah continued to spin. “And you don’t have to worry about rookie detectives, Charlotte. Bill’s brought in a really good detective from the Minneapolis Police Force. Her name is Stella Parks.”

“That’s good. Well, good luck with the security…” Charlotte stopped speaking and looked worried again.

“What is it?”

“That security guard you’re going to interview…it’s not Frank Hurley, is it?”

“No, his name is Tad Newberg. He was the guard on duty when Ronni was killed. Does Frank Hurley work out here at the mall?”

“Yes. He’s a really nice guy, Hannah. He used to work for a private security firm up north, and he moved here to be closer to his relatives. I’m glad he wasn’t on duty when it happened.”

“How do you know him?” Hannah was curious.

“He works for us at the school whenever there’s a big basketball or football game, and we wouldn’t even think of holding a prom without him.”

“The prom I can understand. That tends to get a little wild. But there’s that much trouble on big game nights?”

“Oh, it’s not real trouble. It’s just kids acting up and causing an inconvenience. Sometimes they think it’s funny to let the air out of the opposing team’s bus tires. Frank patrols outside, and he gives them a lecture about how the Jordan High Gulls practice better sportsmanship than that. The kids think he’s pretty strict and old-fashioned, but they respect him.”

Hannah knew she must have been tired, because it took several seconds for the next question to occur to her. “You said Frank works out here. Does he know Tad Newberg?”

“I’m sure he does. The security staff out here isn’t that large, and they must have worked together at one time or another.”

Hannah flipped her shorthand notebook open and wrote Frank’s name inside. “He could be a valuable resource. Could I have his number?”

“Of course.” Charlotte gave it to her, but she looked puzzled. “Why do you need it if Frank wasn’t on duty when it happened?”

“Because he works here,” Hannah thought fast, “and he knows how the mall security works. I probably won’t need him, but I’ll keep his name handy in case Tad’s not available and I’ve got questions about scheduling, or procedure, or something like that.”

“Oh. Well, he’d probably know all about that. If you need him, call me and I’ll introduce you.”

“Thanks,” Hannah said. And her mind said, Disaster averted. Good work.

“So who do you think killed her, Hannah?” Charlotte leaned closer again. “I probably shouldn’t say this, but I overheard her on her cell phone one day, and she told someone that she was going to turn her ex-fiancé in for tax evasion. Of course I don’t know if she did it or not, but the federal government’s nobody to fool around with. If Ronni actually called their tip line and he found out about it, he might have been so mad at her that he killed her.”

“Not possible,” Hannah said, watching Charlotte’s face fall. “Wade Hoffman was in an auto accident, and he was still at Lake Eden Memorial under Doc Knight’s care when Ronni was murdered.”

“Oh. Well…it was just a theory.”

“And it was a good one. It’s the first thing I checked out.”

“Really?” Charlotte looked pleased. “Well, how about Serena Roste? Did you check her out, too?”

“Who’s Serena Roste?”

“She’s Wade Hoffman’s former fiancée. He was engaged to Serena before he got engaged to Ronni.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“That’s because it’s Elk River gossip, not Lake Eden gossip. We use a substitute teacher from Elk River every once in a while, and she told me that it was a really nasty breakup. Serena and Ronni used to be close friends until Ronni stole Serena’s fiancé.”

“Serena Roste.” Hannah flipped to her suspect page and added the name. “Do you think Serena was upset enough with Ronni to kill her?”

Charlotte gave a little shrug. “I don’t know. Maybe. Did you just add her to your suspect list?”

“Yes. Mike says that more murders are committed by spouses or jealous lovers than by any other group of people.”

“I didn’t know that.” Charlotte gave a little grin. “That almost, but not quite, makes me glad I never got married.”



“Did you bring the cookies?” Hannah asked, when Andrea met her in the Snack Shack.

“Of course. Michelle’s got them. She’s getting a guest pass from Roger so she can come in anytime she likes.”

“Does the owner know about this?”

“Oh, yes. Roger’s handling it for him. He’s very worried that Heavenly Bodies will get a reputation for not being safe, and he wants Roger to do all he can to prove that they aren’t liable in any way for Ronni’s death.”

“That figures. And it explains why Roger is being so generous with the guest passes.”

“That’s only one reason. The other reason is that he wants us to hurry and catch Ronni’s killer because Stella interviewed him today.”