Fudge Cupcake Murder (Hannah Swensen, #5)(42)

"You're right. It could be." Hannah got out of her truck to examine the taillight. "Where was your car parked on Monday night?"

"Really close to where it is right now. I left room for one car to park behind me without blocking the driveway."

"You were expecting company?"

"Not really, but Andrea was going out with Tracey and I thought maybe I could talk Dad into coming over to watch the game with me."

"I wish that had happened," Hannah said. If Bill's dad had been with him, they wouldn't be in this fix.

"Me, too. But Mom invited the neighbors for dinner and he had to stay home."

One of the living room windows opened and Andrea stuck her head out. "Is something wrong?"

"No, something may be right," Hannah said, exchanging a smile with Bill. "Someone hit Bill's car on Monday night. If we can find out when it happened and who did it, he might have his alibi."

"What color car hit Bill's car? Can you tell?"

Hannah bent over to look at the lens of the taillight. It was cracked and hanging by the edge, but there was a smear of dark yellow paint on the red gel. "There's some paint here. It's kind of a gold color but not sparkly."

"I saw that car on Monday night," Andrea hollered out. "Come back inside and I'll tell you about it. I'm freezing with the window open."

Hannah grinned as Andrea shut the window with a bang.

It was a still night and it wasn't that cold, but it was clear Andrea wanted them to come to her so that she could be part of the team.



It only took a few moments for Andrea to give her information. Just as Hannah had thought, the little that Andrea knew could have been conveyed through the open window, but her sister enjoyed being in on the action. She told them that when she'd come home from the mall with Tracey, the cars on the street were bumper to bumper and she'd had to squeeze past a Harvest Gold Mercedes to get into their driveway.

"You're sure it was Harvest Gold?" Bill asked.

"I'm sure. I remember thinking that if I bought a brand new Mercedes, I wouldn't want it to be the same color as an old refrigerator."

Hannah laughed. Her sister had the color pegged. In addition to white, there had been three colors for kitchen appliances in the late sixties and early seventies; harvest gold, avocado, and bronze. The thought of any one of those shades on a new car was enough to give a sane person pause. "So who owns this Mercedes? Do you have any idea?"

"No, but Lorna Kusak should know. She was giving a Firelight Candle party and that's why there were so many cars on our street. I'm really sorry I was busy and I couldn't go. Firelight has a new scent, raspberry frappe, and I'd like a candle for the bathroom. It would exactly match the towels, and…"

"Are you absolutely sure the Mercedes was new?" Hannah interrupted her sister in the middle of what would undoubtedly be a discussion of bathroom decor.

"I'm positive it was new. It still had those paper dealer plates. And you know what that means."

Bill started to grin. "I know. Wait here, honey. Hannah and I will run over to Lorna's and find out."

"Right," Hannah followed Bill to the door. When someone in a town the size of Lake Eden got a new car, it entitled the owner to bragging rights. Lorna was bound to know who owned it. "We'll come back and tell you, I promise. And if Lorna has any of those raspberry frappe candles left, I'll buy one for you."



Five minutes later, Bill was on the phone with Betty Jackson. He put his call on speakerphone so that Andrea and Hannah could hear. Hannah was sipping a reheated cup of coffee while Andrea sniffed her new candle.

"I'm sorry I'm calling so late, Betty, but it's really important."

"That's okay, Bill." Betty's voice was warm and friendly. "I've got the day off tomorrow and I'm staying up late to channel surf. My new microwave dish is unbelievable, over four hundred channels and I'm trying them all out."

"Sports?" Bill asked, and he looked envious.

"Twenty-five channels devoted to every sport known to man." Betty gave a little laugh. "They even have curling from the rink in Bemidgi. Can you imagine?"

"Wow!" Bill gave an impressed sigh and Andrea nudged him with her foot. He looked startled for a moment and then remembered why he'd called Betty in the first place.

"Did you hear about my new promotion?" Betty asked, before Bill could open the subject of his car and hers. "Now I'm an executive assistant to Max's cousin at the dairy. Cozy Cow is doing so well, I just hired two new secretaries to fill my old job. But I'm sure that's not what you called about. You probably want my insurance information. I forgot to write it on the note I left under your windshield wiper when I bumped into your car on Monday night."

Hannah high-fived her sister and Andrea high-fived back, but they weren't out of the woods yet. They sat back and waited for Bill to obtain the critical information that would clear him.

"Your note must have blown away, Betty. There was nothing under my windshield wiper."

"Really? Then how did you know to call…" Betty paused and gave an embarrassed little laugh. "Never mind. You're a detective, after all. Of course you found out it was me. I'm really mortified about it, Bill. I still can't believe I misjudged the distance. It's just that the Mercedes is a lot bigger than my old VW."