Lemon Meringue Pie Murder (Hannah Swensen #4)(75)

252 Joanne Fluke

"Right." Hannah reached in her purse and drew out the envelope of prints that Norman had developed.

Andrea took her time paging through the prints. By the time she'd finished examining each one, the inside of her windshield was steaming up, "What happened to the rain gutters?"

"Where?" Hannah asked, glancing down at the top photo on Andrea's stack.

"On cars. Heaven knows my Volvo was expensive enough and it's got everything else. Remember the little ledge Dad used to have above the windows in the Chrysler? He could roll down the windows and the rain wouldn't come in."

Hannah knew Andrea was off on a tangent, but she understood her sister's reasoning. It was getting pretty steamy in her closed car. "So did you notice anything in the pictures?"

"Nothing really jumped out at me except those mayo jars." Andrea flipped to the picture of the shelves behind the furnace.

"But they're not unusual. Lots of people save mayo jars for jams and jellies. Don't you remember how Grandma Ingrid used to bring us mayo jars full of rhubarb jam?"

"Of course I remember. I loved Grandma Ingrid's rhubarb jam, but that's not what I'm talking about." Andrea pointed to the photo. "I just thought it was odd that these three jars in the middle of the top shelf are red."

Hannah took a quick look. "They're just a different kind of jam, that's all."

"I know that, but Mrs. Voelker was so organized. Each section holds a different type of jam. The top shelf looks like peach, the middle shelf looks like blueberry, and the bottom shelf looks like strawberry."

"So?"

"So why did she move three jars of strawberry jam up to the peach shelf? You can tell she did. There are three empty places on the strawberry shelf, way over here at the end."

Hannah looked again. Andrea was right. Somebody had moved three jars of strawberry jam up to the top shelf. "You're

LEMON MERINGUE PIE MURDER 253

a genius, Andrea! That's what I've been missing and you spotted it."

"I'm glad, but I don't know what you're so excited about. Mrs. Voelker probably ate the peach jam and her companion moved the strawberry up where it would be easier to reach."

"I don't think so. Look at that strawberry shelf again. It's all dusty between the jars, but there are three perfectly clean spots where the strawberry jam used to sit."

Andrea studied the photo again. "You're right, Hannah. Mrs. Voelker died over six months ago. If her companion had moved that jam, those spots would be covered over with dust by now. Do you think Rhonda's killer moved them?"

"That's my guess."

Andrea shivered slightly. "Maybe we should tell Bill and Mike. They might be able to lift some fingerprints."

"I don't think so. Mike told me that the killer wore gloves."

"That's right. Bill mentioned it. But why would the killer bother to move them in the first place?"

"I don't know, but there's got to be an answer. All I have to do is find out what it is." Hannah wiped a spot clean on the steamed-up window and glanced out. "Come on, Andrea. The rain's let up and it's a sauna in here. And I still have to do Lisa's shopping."

Once they entered the store, the two sisters went their separate ways. Hannah headed straight for the produce to get some things for her nightly salad, and Andrea veered off toward the frozen dinners. It didn't take long for Hannah to pick up the items on Lisa's list and when she arrived at the checkout counter, she found Andrea waiting for her.

"What's all that?" Andrea stared at the contents of Hannah's cart.

"I'll be darned if I know." Hannah was just as puzzled as her sister. She'd picked up some fresh vegetables for her dinner salad and a bag of kitty treats for Moishe, but the large bottles of red and blue food coloring and the boxes of flat-bottomed ice cream cones were for Lisa. "Lisa's making special cupcakes for the picnic."

254 Joanne Fluke

"With cucumbers, cat treats, and ice cream cones?"

"No, the cucumbers and cat treats are mine."

"Well, that's a relief!" Andrea said, looking greatly relieved. "They don't carry blue Jell-O."

"I never thought that they did." Hannah pushed her cart 1 into the shortest line and Andrea followed her. "Why did you

I want blue Jell-O?"

"For the town picnic. I thought I'd make a Jell-O mold in layers for Independence Day. Blue Jell-O in the bottom, red on top of that, and then white whipped cream. It would have been perfect."

Hannah did her best to look sympathetic, but it was a struggle. Her sister's idea of gourmet cooking was to dump a can of fruit cocktail into some Jell-O and squirt it with a can of whipped cream. "So what are you going to bring?"

"Chips and dip. I got a package of blue corn chips, and a package of white. I'm going to mix them in a bowl and put out some salsa. That's red."

"That should do it," Hannah said, sending a silent thank-you to the Red Owl for not carrying blue Jell-O.

When Hannah got back to The Cookie Jar, she manned the counter while Lisa went back to the kitchen to bake. Thirty minutes from the time Lisa had gone through the swinging door to the kitchen, a delicious aroma began to drift out to titillate Hannah's nostrils. She resisted for as long as she could, but finally she excused herself to the customers sitting at the counter and stuck her head into the kitchen to see how Lisa was coming along. "It really smells good in here. Chocolate?"