Cream Puff Murder (Hannah Swensen, #11)(64)

Surprise, surprise, Hannah thought, wondering how such a bright guy could be so na?ve when it came to the excuses a sexy woman gave him.

“Anyway,” Mike went on, “I decided to use it after I came to see you last night and I had to park way out on the road. My Hummer’s too distinctive. There aren’t that many around town. But if somebody sees this car parked next to you in the garage, they’ll never guess it’s me.”

“True,” Hannah said, but she didn’t add the rest of the comment that ran through her mind. One look and they’ll think somebody abandoned it here, and they’ll have it towed away.



“All done,” Mike said, stepping back with Hannah’s screwdriver in his hand. He glanced down to see Moishe gazing up at him and turned to Hannah. “Do you think he knows we’re on to him?”

“Maybe. Moishe’s a really bright cat.”

“It’s for your own good, Big Guy,” Mike said, reaching down to pet Moishe’s head. Then he straightened up to face Hannah again. “Just flick that red switch on the base of the camera when you leave in the morning, and it’ll record six hours of activity.”

“Activity?”

“It’s state-of-the-art. It won’t record if there’s no activity at the food bowl. It’s motion activated.”

“So I won’t have to sit through hours of tape showing the food bowl and the doorway, and nothing else.”

“Exactly.”

“Thanks, Mike,” Hannah said, leading him to the door. “You really have to go now. I need to get some sleep. Tomorrow’s going to be a rough day.”

“You have a lot of baking to do?”

“I don’t have to do any baking. Lisa and Michelle are taking care of that. I have to meet Andrea out at Heavenly Bodies.”

“So you’re still doing your early-morning exercises,” Mike said, looking pleased.

“Of course. We work out first, and then both of us go to Roger’s Classic Body Sculpting class.”

Mike eyed her appraisingly. “You look like you lost a little weight, Hannah.”

“I do?” It was Hannah’s turn to look pleased.

“Definitely. Your face looks thinner.”

Her face? Hannah had all she could do not to groan. If her face was the only place she’d lost weight, she’d never get thin enough to fit into her Regency dress!

“It takes a while to start losing,” Mike said, the man who was all muscle, no fat. “How long is your class?”

“Half an hour. But I’ve got classes in the afternoon, too.”

“Good for you! Which classes are you taking?”

“Every one of the ones that Ronni used to teach.”

Mike looked puzzled. “Why are you doing that?”

“To find out if any of the other class members had a grudge against her. I’m exercising, but I’m listening, too. Ronni wasn’t exactly complimentary toward some of the ladies she taught, and they’re still talking about the things she said.”

“Oh, but that was just Ronni. I don’t think anybody thought that much about it. Do you really think that some woman she insulted in class got mad enough to kill her?”

“It’s a possibility.”

“Maybe, but it’s a real long shot. Seriously, Hannah…it won’t do you any good to nose around out at Heavenly Bodies. There’s nothing to learn out there, and you’re just wasting time. You’d be a lot better off reading those books I gave you and improving your investigative techniques.”

They’d reached the front door, and Hannah opened it. She could hardly wait for Mike to leave. She was sick and tired of everyone telling her how she should spend her time.

“Night, Hannah,” Mike said, and then he pulled her into his arms for a kiss.

Conflicting emotions assailed Hannah. On the one hand, she was irked at Mike for telling her how to run her investigation, her weight-loss program, and her life in general. On the other hand, he was the best kisser in the whole county, perhaps even the whole state. Hannah felt the tingles spread up from her toes and travel all the way to the top of her head. They made the return trip from head to toes as the kiss went on for second after delicious second.

“I’d better let you get some sleep,” Mike said at last, breaking their embrace. “See you soon, Hannah.”

Hannah nodded. She was incapable of further speech. As she closed the door behind him, she thought that perhaps she wouldn’t mind Mike’s high-handedness quite so much if he’d kiss her like that more often!





Chapter Twenty-Three




Hannah refilled the food tube on Moishe’s Kitty Valet and secured the lid. Then she put the sack of cat food back in the broom closet and locked the door. Everything was set. All she had to do was remember to turn on the kitty-cam when she left, and her stockpiling cat would be caught red-pawed.

“All set?” Michelle asked, coming into the kitchen in her winter parka and boots.

“I am. But you really don’t have to go down to The Cookie Jar this early. If you get there by six, that should be plenty of time to help Lisa with the baking.”

“I’m leaving with you. I want to give Moishe plenty of time to hide his food. I bet it’s behind the stove.”