Devil's Food Cake Murder (Hannah Swensen, #14)(63)

“And the church office is locked at night,” Marguerite added. “The only reason it was open when the murder happened is that the reverend, whoever he is, was working.”

“So it could have been a burglary gone bad,” Grandma Knudson said thoughtfully. “And that’s why Paul was in prison. He was serving time for a burglary gone bad.”

“That’s what the fake Reverend Matthew told you,” Hannah reminded her. “He might have lied about that, for some reason.”

The phone rang and Grandma Knudson reached out to answer it. They were all silent as she said hello and then greeted her caller. “Yes, Matthew. I’m glad you called. Where are you?”

Now that Hannah knew who the caller was, she listened even more carefully. She glanced over at Norman and saw that he was also intent on hearing the one-sided telephone conversation.

“Are you all right?” Grandma Knudson asked, and then she listened for a moment. “Yes, dear. That’s what we thought. You go right ahead to the sheriff’s station and tell them you made positive identification. And don’t worry about me. Clara and Marguerite are here, and they said they’d stay until you got back.”

So the fake Reverend Matthew was Paul. That was pretty clear from Grandma Knudson’s side of the conversation. It was also clear that the real Reverend Matthew was worried about Grandma Knudson.

“Just come back here when you’re through,” Grandma Knudson said. “I have a nice cut of boneless chuck and I’ll make something good and nourishing for your supper. It always makes a body feel better to have something good to eat.”

Hannah watched as a smile spread across Grandma Knudson’s face. Reverend Matthew had said something to make her happy.

“That’s sweet of you to say, dear! I think of you like a grandson, too.”

After Grandma Knudson hung up the phone, Hannah turned to her for confirmation. “Reverend Matthew told you that his cousin Paul was the murder victim?”

“Yes. Poor Matthew was very upset, Hannah. His voice was shaking when he called me.”

“I’m sure he was,” Norman said. “It must have been very difficult for him to identify his cousin.”

“And even more difficult to know that someone he once trusted, his cousin Paul, had impersonated him,” Marguerite said. “That’s a real betrayal.”

Clara nodded. “Just like Judas, except it wasn’t for twenty pieces of silver. I wonder what it was for.”

“I’m going to try to find out,” Hannah promised.

“And I’m going to help her,” Norman added. “I’m taking the whole week off so we can work on this together.”

“Me, too,” Michelle said, nodding quickly. “Don’t worry, Grandma Knudson. Just leave everything to us. We’re going to get to the bottom of this!”

Hannah glanced over at her sister. Michelle was doing a nice job of reassuring Grandma Knudson, but she wished her baby sister had used slightly less positive language. Just leave everything to us was fine. They didn’t want Grandma Knudson to worry and wonder about Paul’s murder. But the promise that Michelle had given her, We’ll get to the bottom of this, was a bit too much for Hannah. Of course they’d try to get to the bottom of it, but there was always the chance they might fail. They’d been lucky so far in solving Lake Eden murder cases, but there was always the possibility that the solution to Paul’s murder might elude them.

They visited for another couple of minutes, talking about other things. Once Hannah thought that Grandma Knudson had calmed down again, she motioned to the others, said that she had to get back to The Cookie Jar, and they left.

“If you don’t mind, I’m going to jot down some notes on the drive back,” she told Norman when he opened the passenger door for her.

“That’s fine with me. You can read them to us when we get back to…just a second. I’ve got a call and I have to take it.” Norman tossed her the keys. “Start the car so you and Michelle can keep warm.”

As Hannah and Michelle watched through the car windows, Norman answered the call. He listened and then an exasperated expression crossed his face.

“I wish we could hear,” Michelle said. “Norman doesn’t look happy.”

“No, he doesn’t. It must be some sort of emergency. I hope nothing’s wrong with Carrie or Earl.”

Norman paced as he talked, a half-dozen steps forward, and then a half-dozen steps back. They could see his face when he moved toward them, and Hannah thought he looked annoyed with his caller.

“I don’t think it has anything to do with Carrie or Earl,” Michelle said. “Norman looks more irritated than worried.”

“And if it was a real family emergency, he’d hurry back to the car and drive wherever he had to go,” Hannah added.

Ten minutes passed before Norman came back to the car. Hannah was glad she’d turned on the heater, because he was shaking a little from the cold. “Is everything okay?” she asked him.

“No. There’s a dental emergency and I have to get down to the clinic. It’s going to take a while, so I’ll drop you off at The Cookie Jar and catch up with you at home, if that’s okay with you.”

“Sure,” Hannah said. “That’s fine.”