Lemon Meringue Pie Murder (Hannah Swensen #4)(87)

Hannah glanced over at the food tables. There were only a few stragglers going back for thirds. It was time to start putting the food away. She stood up, and both men stopped talking and turned to her. "I'm going to help Edna with the cleanup."

"Sure," Mike said.

"Okay," Norman echoed the sentiment. "Do you need any help?"

"No, that's okay." Hannah headed off at a speedy clip, but not fast enough to miss hearing another all-male conversation begin. This one was about cars and the various advantages of the latest models.

By the time Hannah had helped with the cleanup and made a run to her truck to mosquito-proof herself and retrieve her quilt, she saw a fleet of rowboats heading out from the dock. The boats were riding low in the water and Hannah knew that the fireworks had been unloaded from the van and stacked in the bottom of the rowboats for transport to the rafts that would become launching pads. Most people in the tri-county area thought that the Lake Eden fireworks display was the best one around. The town council spent a small fortune every year on fireworks and the display seemed twice as large as it really was when the streamers of bursting colors were reflected off the surface of the lake. She found Mike and Norman on the lakeshore, sitting on the sand and claiming their patch of spectator space. They helped her spread out her quilt and before long the whole extended family had found spaces around them.

Darkness began to fall. Hannah could see dim lights, one on each of the rafts and more in the rowboats. She was sure that Joe Dietz was out there again this year. A retired warrant officer in Army Ordnance, Joe was in his seventies and he'd been directing the fireworks for as long as Hannah could remember. She spotted Jed moving through the crowd with a

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blanket roll under his arm. He'd put on a leather jacket over his shirt and vest, and Hannah wished she'd thought to bring hers. It wouldn't be needed in town, but there was always a breeze near the lake and it could turn chilly when the last rays of sun had faded. For a moment, Hannah was concerned that Freddy was nowhere in sight, but then she remembered the group that Jed had been talking to earlier and how friendly they'd seemed. Freddy and the group were probably sitting on the sand, saving a place for the blanket that Jed had gone to fetch.

Once the sun had disappeared below the horizon, night fell rapidly. Hannah crossed her legs and sat "Indian style," a phrase her first-grade teacher had used that was probably now politically incorrect.

Before Hannah really expected it, the fireworks began with a bang. It was a single bang and it was a loud one, causing her hands to fly up to cover her ears. She jumped, then laughed in delight. The Lake Eden fireworks always started this way, but it never failed to startle her.

The first loud bang was followed by a rapid series of bangs. Next there was a whoosh as a rocket shot up and burst overhead, raining down streamers of pink that were reflected on the surface of the lake. Hannah cheered with the rest of the crowd and at that exact moment, Norman reached out for her hand. A moment later, as a green blossom of fireworks burst in the sky, Mike reached out for her other hand.

Hannah sat there, hardly daring to breathe. What was the etiquette in a situation like this? Should she tell Mike she couldn't hold hands with him because she was already holding hands with Norman? Or should she refuse to hold hands with both of them? Hannah thought about it through another series of rockets and multicolored streamers and came to a decision. Miss Manners was bound to disagree, but since neither Mike nor Norman seemed to be aware that his rival was holding her hand, the best thing to do was relax and enjoy it.

The crowd gave a collective gasp and then a prolonged

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"Oooooh" as two more pyrotechnic stars burst overhead, one red and one blue. Joe Dietz was doing a good job of mixing large displays with the smaller displays to make the fireworks last as long as possible. It was a perfect evening for the show. There was a light breeze that cleared away the smoke, so each flash looked as brilliant against the night sky as the one that had come before it.

They were only five minutes into the fireworks show when Mike's police radio crackled and he held it up against his ear. He listened for a moment, responded with an "On my way," and turned to Hannah. "They called me in. There's a six-car pileup out on the highway with a bus involved."

Mike stood up and no more than a second later, so did Lonnie. Another moment and Bill also got to his feet

"They called everyone hi?" Hannah asked.

"Everyone. It's a bad one." Mike turned to Norman. "Have you seen Doc Knight? The dispatcher said she couldn't reach him on his pager."

"He was talking to Edna a couple of minutes ago," Norman said.

"Can you find him and tell him to go straight to the hospital? County's setting up triage out there and they'll be sending him some casualties."

"I'll find him and then I'll drive out. If you have any facial injuries, I can help. Where's the accident?"

"Two miles south of the Lake Eden turnoff. Thanks, Norman." Mike motioned to Bill and Lonnie. "I brought the squad car. You can ride with me."

In less time than it took to swat a mosquito, Hannah's two Lotharios had deserted her and she was left sitting in the center of her quilt alone. Michelle was also alone, now that Lonnie had left, and so was Andrea.

"If you marry a cop, you go through a lot of nights alone," Andrea commented with a sharp glance at Michelle. "You don't have to like it, but you do have to cope with it."