Lemon Meringue Pie Murder (Hannah Swensen #4)(46)

"I'm glad Tracey's so interested. She's still too young, but I'll mail a packet to Andrea tomorrow with the guidelines."

"Thanks, Bonnie. That's all I needed. I'll let you go." Hannah hung up the phone and let out a relieved sigh. She liked Bonnie and Gil and she was glad that Rhonda hadn't been a threat to their marriage.

The next name on Hannah's list was Kenneth Purvis. Hannah had trouble visualizing Jordan High's principal, a man whose most notable habit was polishing his glasses, in a steamy embrace with Rhonda, but she couldn't discount the possibility. Ken had picked up two orders of osso buco on Friday night.

Hannah had learned her lesson from Bonnie. She needed a good excuse for her call. When Ken or his wife, Kathy, answered, she'd ask about the community outreach night classes Jordan High was planning to hold in the fall. There had been an article about it last week in the Lake Eden Journal. She

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could pretend to be interested in signing up for basket weaving, or fly casting, or something like that.

Hannah looked up the number and dialed. The phone rang several times and then their answering machine clicked on. Rather than leave a message, Hannah hung up and turned to the third name on the list, Reverend Knudson.

"Redeemer Lutheran," Reverend Knudson's grandmother answered on the second ring.

"Hi, Mrs. Knudson. It's Hannah Swensen."

"Hello, Hannah." Mrs. Knudson sounded pleased to hear from her. "The reverend isn't home right now, but I can take a message and have him call you in the morning."

"That's okay. Maybe you can help. I meant to call earlier, but I forgot. I'm out here at Alfredo's Ristorante. Have you ever had their osso buco?"

"No, but it's one of my favorite dishes."

"Maybe your grandson could pick it up as takeout for you," Hannah said, hoping to solicit more information. It was obvious that Reverend Knudson hadn't taken osso buco to his grandmother, but he'd left Alfredo's last Friday night with two takeout orders. "They have it on their menu every Friday night."

"You might know it would be Fridays!" Priscilla Knudson gave an exasperated sigh. "The reverend is always gone on Friday nights. Church-related meetings, you know."

"Of course," Hannah said, drawing a circle around Reverend Knudson's name. If he'd gone to a church-related meeting on Friday night, she was willing to bet he hadn't arrived with two orders of takeout osso buco from Alfredo's Ristorante.

"You said earlier that you thought I might be able to help you. With what, Hannah?"

Mrs. Knudson's question brought Hannah back from her speculations and she launched into the excuse she'd prepared. "I heard about the bake sale Redeemer Lutheran is holding on Saturdays and I wanted to contribute something. How about a box of cookies?"

"Why, that would be lovely, Hannah. I'm sure the rev-

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erend will be delighted. Can we count on you for this Saturday?"

"Absolutely."

Hannah smiled as she hung up the phone. A box of free cookies was a small price to pay for the information Priscilla Knudson had given her. She'd eliminated Gil Surma and she had yet to reach Principal Purvis, but Reverend Knudson had just jumped to the top of her suspect list.

Chapter Fourteen

Hannah glanced at her watch in the light from Mike's dashboard as they came over the crest of a long steep hill and neared the Quick Stop. They still had almost fifteen minutes before Michelle's bus was due to arrive. "Let's park on the side and go in. I want to see how my cookies are doing for Sean and Ron."

Mike pulled into a spot at the side of the building and shut off his engine. "We can go in, but I already know your cookies are selling really well."

"How do you know that? Did you ask Sean and Ron?"

"I didn't have to ask. The guys at the station used to stop for doughnuts and coffee on their way to work, but now they bring in coffee and your cookies. Nobody buys doughnuts anymore."

"Thanks for telling me." Hannah was pleased. She'd started to supply the Quick Stop with cookies several months ago and the volume of their orders had been steadily increasing. That was a good sign, but she hadn't been sure if Sean and Ron were selling more cookies, or just eating more of them.

"You can go in if you want to." Mike turned to smile at her. "I'll stay here and meet Michelle if her bus comes in early."

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Hannah laughed. "Thanks, but that won't work."

"Why not?"

"You've never met Michelle. You don't even know what she looks like."

"Yes, I do. There's a picture of the three of you on the mantel over your fireplace. I recognized Andrea and you, so I figured Michelle had to be the one in the middle with the brown hair."

Hannah was impressed, even though she knew Mike had been trained to notice things. "You're right, but that's an old picture. You might not recognize her now."

"She can't be that different. Her hair could be another color and she could have gained or lost weight, but her basic bone structure is the same. I'll spot her. You don't have .to worry about that."

Hannah began to grin. "I guess any cop who can recognize a suspect from his DMV picture wouldn't have much trouble with an old family photo."