Lemon Meringue Pie Murder (Hannah Swensen #4)(13)

"I hate to disturb you at work, but I need to ask for your help."

This was a new wrinkle! Delores never asked, she demanded. "What is it, Mother?"

"Norman told Carrie that we can take any furnishings we want from the Voelker place. The only catch is, he found someone to start demolishing it on Saturday and we have to get the things out before then."

"And you want me to help you move them?" Hannah's muscles began to cramp at the thought. The last time she'd helped her mother move antiques, she'd been stiff and sore for almost a week.

"No, Luanne's taking care of all that. She's rented a truck and hired a couple of high school boys to do the heavy lifting. She's absolutely wonderful, Hannah. Her talents were simply wasted at the cafe."

"I'm glad it's working out so well," Hannah said, smiling

LEMON MERINGUE PIE MURDER 49

to herself. As far as she was concerned, Luanne Hanks was a story of success in the face of adversity. The Hanks family lived at the end of Old Bailey Road, right next to the town

dump and a mile past Freddy Sawyer's house. The youngest

of six children, Luanne had dropped out of school in her senior year to have a baby, but she'd studied at home and passed her high school equivalency exam. Instead of taking the easier way out and giving her daughter up for adoption, Luanne had decided to raise Suzie as a single mom. For the first two years, she'd supported her widowed mother and her baby by working at Hal & Rose's Cafe as a waitress and selling Pretty Girl Cosmetics door to door.

Delores had come into contact with Luanne when she'd done the makeup for the old-fashioned portraits Norman had taken at the Lake Eden Winter Carnival. Impressed with Luanne's eagerness to learn about antiques, Delores and Carrie had hired her as their assistant when they'd opened Granny's Attic in May.

"I'm going out to the Voelker place this afternoon to tag the things we want to take. I thought it would be fun if we went out there together."

Hannah searched her mind for an ulterior motive. Her mother always had an ulterior motive. Hannah knew very little about antiques, and Delores was an expert. There was no way her mother needed her help with that. As far as she knew, her mother's car was running just fine and she was perfectly capable of driving out there by herself. Perhaps Delores just wanted to spend a few hours with her eldest daughter? No, that couldn't be it.

"Do you have time to go with me, Hannah? I'd really appreciate it."

"I guess," Hannah said, a bit reluctantly. There was something afoot, but she couldn't think of what it could be. "I'm catering coffee and dessert at the St. Jude Society prayer meeting, but I should be back here by one."

"That's perfect, dear. Norman's got an eleven-thirty appointment and he should be free by then."

50

Joanne Fluke

"Norman's going?"

"Yes, dear. He wants to take another look at the place before they tear it down."

"But if Norman's driving out there anyway, why don't you ride with him?"

"We'd rather ride with you, dear." Delores sounded a bit uncomfortable and she cleared her throat. "You've got such a nice big truck and Norman says there's quite a bit of artwork on the walls. I thought we could pack that up and bring it back with us."

Hannah grinned in sudden understanding. Delores wanted her for the cargo space in her cookie truck. She thought about refusing. Her truck was not a moving van. But it was a small tiling to ask and she did want to take a look at the property that Norman had bought.

"Okay. I'll call you when I get back here and we'll go pick up Norman. Tell him to expect us about one-fifteen."

"I'll do that, dear. I'm sure he'll want to show you all around and discuss the new house while I'm tagging the antiques. Who knows? If the timing is right, something might just happen."

Hannah was grinning as she hung up the phone. Not only had she identified her mother's primary motive, she'd found a second. Delores hoped that if she threw Hannah together with Norman, he might propose. Hannah didn't think that would happen, but it was a nice try on her mother's part.

It was ten o'clock and Hannah was manning the cash register when she spotted Mike's Jeep pulling up in front of her shop. Her heart began to hammer and her insides turned to mush as he got out and strode toward the front door. With a start, she realized that the mug of coffee she was holding was sloshing and she set it down quickly before any of her customers could notice. Mike always had this effect on her. It was as if she'd received a jolt of electricity that made her tingle all over.

51

The door to The Cookie Jar opened and Mike walked in. He looked determined, like a man on a mission, and Hannah watched his eyes rove over the customers that lined the tables in her small shop. When he spotted her behind the counter, he strode up to her quickly. "We need to talk."

"Okay. What is it?"

Mike shook his head. "Not here. Let's go in the back and send Lisa up here."

The switch was accomplished with a minimum of fuss and Hannah motioned to a stool at the workstation. "Sit down, Mike. Do you want a cup of coffee?"

"No. Am I too late, Hannah?"

Hannah glanced at the clock. "Actually, you're early. Andrea said you'd be in about noon."