Fudge Cupcake Murder (Hannah Swensen, #5)(86)

Feeling much better now that she had two possible pieces of evidence, Hannah went back to her scenario. It all made sense, but something was missing. She thought about the information that everyone had given her and remembered the stain on Krista's dress. What if the stain wasn't rust? What if it was Sheriff Grant's blood, smeared inside the truck by Ted when he was in the process of slipping on his coveralls?

Suddenly Hannah had a frightening thought. If Clara and Marguerite Hollenbeck came back early, they might remove the stain from Krista's dress. She had to call and tell them not to touch what could be important evidence. Hannah picked up the phone, dialed their number, and breathed a sigh of relief when their answer machine kicked in. They weren't back yet. She'd leave a message telling them not to touch Krista's dress.

The two sisters had recorded a lengthy outgoing message and Hannah listened to more about Clara and Marguerite's schedules than she needed or wanted to know. She was just waiting for the beep to record her message when she heard a roar outside the window and looked up to see Ted Koester's tow truck pulling up in front of the trailer.

Hannah hung up the phone, waved at Ted, and plastered a smile on her face. It was a good thing he couldn't read her mind! All she had to do was explain where Beatrice was, tell him she'd taken his delivery, offer him a cupcake, pay for the tire iron, and get out.

"Hi, Hannah." Ted stepped inside the trailer, looking puzzled. "Where's Beatrice?"

"She had to go repair Leah's dance costume. I said I'd stay until you got here. Your delivery came. I signed for it and put the paper on the clipboard the way Beatrice told me to do."

"Thanks." Ted eyed the white bag on the counter. "What's that?"

"Cupcakes. I think I've got your mother's recipe figured out. Taste one and see."

Ted took a cupcake out of the bag and tasted it. He took another bite and then another. "You got it. What was the secret ingredient that Beatrice was grousing about the other night?"

"Raspberry syrup."

"I'll be!" Ted looked utterly amazed. "I never would have guessed that. So now the recipe will go in the cookbook?"

"Definitely."

"Glad to hear it. It serves my mother right for refusing to give anybody else the recipe. Did Beatrice tell you about that?"

Hannah nodded, wondering about the best way to excuse herself and get out with the evidence.

"Every time she came to visit, she said she forgot it. And then she promised to mail it to Beatrice, but she never did. Now everybody that reads the cookbook can have it. It serves her right."

Hannah swallowed hard. She'd never heard Ted do anything but praise his mother before. He wasn't acting like himself tonight and she should leave. "I need to pay for this tire iron and get out of here, Ted. I promised to take Tracey to the Haunted Basement and I'm late already."

"Okay. Leave those cupcakes here and I won't charge you for the tire iron."

"It's a deal," Hannah said, reaching for the tire iron at the same time Ted did.

"Hold on a second." Ted grabbed it first and reached for a bag. "It might be dirty."

Hannah watched as Ted flipped open a bag. He started to slide the tire iron inside, but he stopped and began to frown. "Where did you get this?"

"Uh… Beatrice found it for me. I got a taillight and a cigarette lighter too, but I already paid for those."

"Where did she get it?"

Hannah shrugged and did her best to look completely clueless. "From the parts building, I guess. I was busy picking out the cigarette lighter."

"No, she didn't. She got it from my work truck."

"How can you tell?" Hannah asked, trying to appear genuinely puzzled. "Don't all tire irons look alike?"

"This one's longer and heavier. It came from an old motor home and they knew how to make them back then. I need it because it's got better leverage and it's easier on my back. I just don't understand why Beatrice would sell it to…”

Hannah blanched as Ted stopped speaking and stared at her, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. Then he picked up the tire iron and began to whack the end of it against his palm. This wasn't good. Ted knew she'd been in his work truck and he also knew why she'd taken his tire iron. Trying to talk her way out of trouble hadn't worked and she'd run out of both time and options.

"Beatrice didn't get this for you. You got it yourself." Ted's voice was filled with menace. "And there's only one reason you'd want…"

Hannah didn't stick around to hear the rest of Ted's reasoning. She just whirled around, pulled open the door, and ran for her life.





Chapter Thirty





The darkness folded around her like a welcoming blanket as Hannah raced across the uneven ground, heading straight toward her cookie truck. The advantage of surprise worked in her favor and she made it all the way there before she realized that she'd grabbed the bag of cupcakes, but she'd left her keys on the counter.

Her cookie truck sat adjacent to an area filled with disabled vehicles. Hannah whirled and ran with the wind at her back, across the dirt road that divided the salvage yard in half and straight into the darker area where the disabled vehicles were parked. Since there weren't as many lights in this area, there was less chance that Ted would spot her. Hannah ducked down and zigzagged past the hulking wrecks, heading toward the car at the very end, an old Cadillac with peeling paint and a cracked windshield. The door was a bit rusted, but Hannah's frantic jerk on the handle did the trick. In a flash, Hannah was inside the back seat, huddled on the floorboards, with the door shut tightly behind her.