Fudge Cupcake Murder (Hannah Swensen, #5)(66)

"And you know this for certain?"

"The girlfriend's mother told Lisa."

"Okay, Nettie's off my list. I'm really glad you cleared her, Hannah."

"Me, too. I like Nettie. Now how about that blood on the lid of the dumpster?"

"There was a sharp place on the lid of the dumpster where the killer could have cut himself. If it matches the smear on Sheriff Grant's shirt, it's definitely from our guy."

"Did you send it out for DNA testing?"

"Of course. That'll take a couple of weeks."

"And when the results come back you'll have evidence you can use to convict the killer?"

"Absolutely. But first, we have to catch him."

Hannah frowned slightly. "Will the DNA help with that?"

"I don't think so. We'll crosscheck it with the existing database, of course."

"But you don't think you'll get any matches?" Hannah asked, interpreting the tone she heard in Mike's voice.

"It's hard to believe we'll get that lucky. This doesn't have the earmarks of a professional hit, but I don't think it's random, either. Someone who knew Sheriff Grant hated or feared him enough to confront him up close and personal and kill him."

"So… you think it's someone local?"

"That's my guess. In a perfect world, I wouldn't have to guess. I'd just test everyone in the county to see whose DNA matches."

"In a perfect world, there wouldn't be any murder and you'd be out of a job."

"True;" Mike said with a grin. "That's what I love about you, Hannah. You always put things in perspective."

Hannah took a deep breath and sealed her lips together. She was afraid to ask if he'd meant love as in like, or love as in love.

Mike didn't seem to mind her lack of response, because he leaned across the table and took her hand, pressing it warmly between both of his. "Do you want dessert now? Or shall we get something to go and take it back to your place?"

Hannah's heart did a tap dance in her chest. Mike had told her he was taking the night off and now he wanted to finish the evening at her condo. Was he about to propose?

"Hannah?" Mike smiled at her.

Hannah's lips turned up in an answering smile. She was glad she was sitting down. Her legs felt weak and her knees were actually knocking together. "Let's get apple pie," she said. And while he was ordering their dessert and paying the bill, she sat there with her fingers crossed, hoping that her mother's room freshener had worked.





Chapter Twenty-Four





"So you didn't learn anything important about Sheriff Grant's murder?" Mike asked, scooping up the last spoonful of vanilla ice cream Hannah had served with his pie.

"Not really," Hannah answered, crossing the fingers on her left hand, the one that wasn't holding her fork, to negate the lie she was about to tell. Learning that Suzie Hanks was Sheriff Grant's granddaughter was important and so was finding out that the sheriff had fought with Luanne in the school parking lot only minutes before he was murdered, but she wasn't about to tell Mike about that. "I was so busy trying to clear Bill, I didn't have much time to investigate. How about you? Did you find any clues when you went through Sheriff Grant's house and car?"

Mike shook his head. "Not a thing."

"Then you don't know if Sheriff Grant was working on a case when he was killed?"

"No. There's a rumor that he was, but no one at the station seems to know anything about it." Mike's eyes narrowed slightly. "You haven't heard anything, have you?"

"Nothing substantial. The only thing I know is that he always worked on a big case right before an election. Then, when he cracked it, he got enough good publicity to get re-elected. I figure that he was working on a case this time, too."

"Where did you get that idea?"

"From one of Mother's friends," Hannah said, and this time she didn't bother to cross her fingers. Barbara Donnelly was a member of the Lake Eden Historical Society and so was Delores. No one would call them bosom buddies, but they were friends. "I thought he might have left some notes in his desk, or a briefcase, or something."

Mike shook his head. "There was nothing in his office at the station and nothing at the house except a couple of empty briefcases. If he was working on a case, he must have stashed his notes somewhere else."

"You're probably right," Hannah said. And then she opened her mouth and inserted her foot without even knowing she was going to do it. "I wish I could search his home office. Maybe you missed something."

Mike gave her a look that could curdle sweet milk. "I'm the professional here, not you. And I know how to conduct a search. I didn't miss anything."

"Uh-oh," Hannah muttered inaudibly. She'd really stepped in it this time. Now Mike was on his high horse and she had to jolly him down into a good mood. "Would you like the rest of my pie? It was such a big piece I can't finish it."

"Well… okay," Mike said, slightly mollified. But Hannah knew it would take more than a few bites of pie to fully placate him.

"How about watching a movie together? I rented the latest shoot-'em-up cop thriller."