Lemon Meringue Pie Murder (Hannah Swensen #4)(71)

"Well?" Hannah turned to her partner. "Do you think I missed anything?"

"No, but I can't help thinking about Ron LaSalle. Remember what you said when he was murdered?"

"I said a lot of things." Hannah sighed. Thinking about her favorite Cozy Cow deliveryman still made her sad.

"But you pointed out that Ron's only mistake was being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or is it the wrong place at the right time? Or the right place at the wrong time? Or..."

"It doesn't matter," Hannah interrupted her. "I know what you mean. Do you think that's what happened to Rhonda?"

"Maybe. What if the killer was in the basement and Rhonda went down there and caught him doing something he didn't want anyone else to know he was doing? If that happened, he might have ..."

238 Joanne Fluke

"Killed Rhonda to keep her from talking," Hannah finished Lisa's sentence for her. "But what was the killer doing in Mrs. Voelker's basement in the first place?"

"I don't know, unless he was looking for antiques to steal, or something like that. You were in the basement. What was down there, anyway?"

"The only things I saw were cobwebs, dust, moldy junk, and shelves of old preserves."

Lisa shrugged. "That sounds like a perfectly ordinary basement to me. How about the furnace room?"

"Not counting the grave and Rhonda's body, there wasn't much there. There was the furnace, of course, and one wall had some homemade shelves for jams and jellies. A couple jars of jam were broken and there was glass on the floor."

"Are you sure that's all there was?"

"Pretty sure. But once I spotted Rhonda's body, I didn't look around at much else." Hannah thought about it for a moment. "You've got a point, Lisa. I should take a second look."

"How are you going to do that? Isn't the whole house taped off as a crime scene?"

"Yes, but that shouldn't be a problem since I don't have to go inside. There's a window in the furnace room and I can take a peek through the glass."

"Why don't you take pictures?" Lisa suggested. "Then both of us could look at the crime scene."

"Good idea. I'll run home and get my camera."

"I've got the disposable I bought last night. It's still in a bag in my car. You can use that."

It didn't take Lisa long to return with the camera. Hannah examined it and began to frown. It had a built-in flash that went off with every picture. That could present a problem, especially since she'd be taking pictures through the glass.

"What's wrong?" Lisa asked, noticing Hannah's frown.

"I have to figure out some way to block the flash so it won't glare off the windowpane."

LEMON MERINGUE PIE MURDER

239

Lisa jumped up again. "You can mask it with electrical tape. We've got some in the kitchen drawer."

Once the camera was modified, Hannah set off for the Voelker place. She'd heard that a deputy had been stationed there to keep out the ghoul-seekers who wanted a peek at the crime scene, and she'd armed herself with a half-dozen cookies and a cup of takeout coffee. She planned to present the deputy with an early morning snack and then give him her excuse for driving out. Since the Voelker place was a good ten minutes away, she'd have plenty of time to dream up something convincing before she got there.

Hannah gave a relieved sigh as she parked at the side of the driveway and spotted Lonnie's older brother, Rick Murphy, sitting in a wicker chair on the front porch. Rick loved her Short Stack Cookies. He'd be so pleased to get some, he'd be sure to buy her story. She slipped off her watch, pushed it out of sight under the passenger seat, and got out of her truck. "Hi, Rick. I brought you a little something for breakfast."

"Hey, Hannah. That's really nice of you." Rick smiled as he accepted the cookies and coffee. "What are you doing way out here?"

"I'm looking for my watch. I think I dropped it inside the day we found Rhonda's body. Mother and I were packing up things for her store and it must have fallen off my wrist."

"I wish I could let you look, but I can't let anyone inside."

"That's okay, Rick. I figured that. But you can go inside and look for it, can't you?"

"I'm not allowed inside, either. The only authorized personnel are the detectives working the case. Sorry, Hannah."

Hannah gave a deep sigh and then she brightened visibly. "How about just peeking in through the windows? If we spot it, I can ask Bill or Mike to get it the next time they come out here."

240 Joanne Fluke

"Well... I guess that'd be okay. They didn't say anything about looking in through the windows."

"Great." Hannah gave him a warm smile. "I'll start on one side of the house and you can start on the other. That way you'll be back at your post twice as fast."

"Sounds good. What does this watch of yours look like?"

Hannah froze for a millisecond. She should have anticipated that question. To cover her momentary lapse, she described her present watch. "It's a waterproof watch with a round face and it's got a black band."

"Like the ones in the window at the drugstore?"