Cream Puff Murder (Hannah Swensen, #11)(88)

An expression of doubt crossed Frank’s face. “Disappointed?”

“Yes. I really like Tad, but he shouldn’t have hooked up that surveillance camera so he could spy on Ronni. That wasn’t a nice thing to do. I can’t say I blame him though. I know he was crazy about her. I’m right, aren’t I?”

“He was crazy about her, all right!”

“Ronni brought this on herself, you know. She was horribly mean to Tad at her birthday party when he gave her those lovely flowers. I can’t say I entirely blame him for waiting until everyone else had left and fighting with her in the hot tub. I’m sure he didn’t mean to kill her though. Tad’s no killer.”

“You’re right about that! So that’s what you figured out, huh?”

“Yes. I just called Mike and he’s going to go talk to Tad.”

Frank laughed and it wasn’t a pleasant sound. “No, you didn’t. I was watching you on my laptop monitor. You never got through to him.”

“You’re right. I was going to call him, but I couldn’t get a good signal, not with all that interference. But he’ll be here any minute anyway. He’s picking me up. I’ll tell him to talk to Tad then.”

“You won’t be telling him anything, not where you’re going.” Frank pulled his gun, whirled her around, and stuck the barrel against her back. “Walk. It’s cold in here, and you’re going to spend some time in the sauna. Too bad you’re going to overdo it. You’ll suffer a heat stroke and die, and everyone will think it’s a terrible accident.”

“Why are you doing this?” Hannah asked, willing her voice not to shake. “I told you I didn’t think Tad killed Ronni on purpose. Once he explains, I’m sure everyone will believe that it was an accident.”

“But it wasn’t an accident.” Frank laughed again and prodded her with the barrel of the gun to make her move faster. “And it wasn’t Tad either. It was me. I killed Ronni.”

“But why?” Hannah gasped, stumbling a bit as she moved forward. She had to keep him talking, distract him, and figure out some way to escape.

“Tad’s like a son to me. My sister died when he was born and the poor kid never had anyone. Tad’s father always blamed him for my sister’s death. Tad’s older brother got all the attention. The only one who ever cared about Tad was me. I knew Ronni was a bad influence the first time I saw her flirting with Tad.”

Hannah tried to slow her steps, but every time she hesitated, Frank prodded her with the gun again. Her eyes scanned the deserted hallway, hoping for something she could grab, whirl, and use to hit him, but the hallways were perfectly empty. “Did you try to warn Tad off?”

“’Course I did. What kind of fool do you take me for? I told him she was the kind to play games with men and I proved it by showing him the tapes of her in the Jacuzzi with other men.”

There was a broom leaning up against the doorway to the Snack Shack. If she could just get close enough to grab it, she could use it to knock him off balance and…

“Don’t even think about it,” Frank warned her, effectively reading her mind and pushing her over to hug the far wall. “I’ll shoot you here if I have to.”

Hannah told herself there’d be another opportunity. There had to be! And then she went on asking questions. “What did Tad say when you showed him the tapes of Ronni in the Jacuzzi with the other men?”

“He was upset, but he wasn’t mad at Ronni. He said she hadn’t dated the right man yet, but the minute she realized that he was perfect for her, she’d settle right down with him and be happy.”

“Are you serious?” Hannah asked, stopping in her tracks and turning around to look at him.

“Yes, I am.”

“Poor Tad!” Hannah said, and she meant it. But in the meantime, they’d stopped moving forward and were now standing still facing each other. This was good. Hannah knew she had to delay for as long as she could. “He was really that out of touch with reality?”

“Oh, yes. He was delusional when it came to Ronni. Nothing she did was her fault and he wouldn’t listen to the truth.”

“But you tried to tell him what Ronni was really like?”

“I talked until I was blue in the face. Nothing sunk in. It was like she’d put blinders on him and he couldn’t see any of her bad qualities.”

“But blinders come off eventually,” Hannah said. “It might take a while, but people wise up.”

“That’s exactly what I was afraid of. I knew the day would come when Tad would see Ronni for what she really was, and…” Frank stopped and swallowed with difficulty. “And when that happened, it would destroy my boy. Someone had to put a stop to it and that’s what I did.”

Hannah was silent. She wasn’t sure what to say next.

“Walk!” Frank grabbed her shoulder, whirled her around, and pushed her so hard she almost stumbled. “Get going! I don’t want to talk about this anymore.”

They rounded the corner and arrived at the door to the sauna. Hannah was still searching for some way to delay him, but she’d run out of all but the final question. “Do you really think you’ll get away with it?” she asked.

“Of course I will. You’re the only one who even came close to figuring it out, and you can’t tell anyone if you’re dead.” Frank’s eyes glittered dangerously. “Too bad you have to pay the price, but my boy comes first. It would kill him if he ever found out what I did to Ronni.”