Red Velvet Cupcake Murder (Hannah Swensen, #16)(17)

She was just attempting to decide what to wear for a visit to the hospital when the phone rang. She reached out to grab it, hoping against hope that it was Barbara again, but it was Mike.

“Hi, Hannah. I’m not calling too early, am I? I know Sunday’s your only day off.”

“No, I’ve been up for a while. Hi, Mike.”

“What’s wrong? You sounded almost disappointed it was me. Were you expecting another call, maybe from Norman?”

There was a hint of jealousy in his voice and Hannah felt good about that. The two men were friends, but they were also rivals when it came to her. There was nothing like having two men vying for her affections. It kept them both on their toes and it made her feel much younger, much more beautiful, and much thinner than she actually was.

“From Norman?” Mike repeated.

“No, not Norman. What can I do for you, Mike?”

“You can marry me, but I know that’s not going to happen anytime soon. In the meantime, how about meeting me for breakfast at the Corner Tavern?”

“Great idea!” Hannah said, and meant it. She needed to talk to Mike anyway to find out if they’d found any evidence at the scene or up on the penthouse rooftop. And, perhaps even more important, she was hungry and she absolutely loved the food at the Corner Tavern.

Once they’d set a time and hung up, Hannah opened her closet to choose an outfit. Since she would be leaving Mike right after breakfast and driving to the hospital, she chose a dark green short-sleeved top with lace at the neckline. It was comfortable, but just a bit dressy, which would be perfect for her visit with Barbara. She was about to take her favorite pair of jeans off the hook and wear those, when she reconsidered. Delores worked at the hospital on Sunday afternoons and Hannah was bound to run into her. The last time she’d seen her mother on a Sunday, Delores had criticized her for wearing jeans. She was used to being criticized by her mother, but there had been a terrible ramification after the criticism. The very next day, Delores had taken Hannah out to the Tri-County Mall to buy her some appropriate clothing. Perhaps some daughters would be delighted with a wardrobe purchased by their mothers, but not Hannah. Of course she was grateful that she didn’t have to pay for all those tops, slacks, and pantsuits. As she remembered, they had cost her mother a small fortune. But there was nothing Hannah hated more than spending hours at the mall, shopping.

“I’m a hunter, not a shopper,” she told Moishe, who’d followed her into the bedroom. “If I have to go out to the mall for something, I find it, buy it, and leave. I don’t go looking for a lot of other things. I think that’s better than spending hours going from this store to that store.”

Moishe closed his eye in a wink and Hannah figured that was response enough. She would have preferred the satisfaction of a yowl or at least a nod, but he looked more interested in the fly that was buzzing outside the screen than in her shopping advice.

“I’d better wear a pair of pants she bought for me,” Hannah said, reaching in the closet for the grey pair. “I don’t want another shopping trip with Mother.”

“Rrrrrowwww!”

This time the response was both immediate and loud, and Hannah reached out to give him a reassuring pet. “She’s not coming here. You’ll have the whole place to yourself while I’m gone. I’m just going to meet Mike for breakfast, visit Barbara at the hospital, and come right back here when I’m through.”

Moishe started to purr and Hannah wondered if it was a reaction to what she’d told him, or whether the purr was just a coincidence. She decided she’d prefer to think it was a reaction to the news she’d be back soon, and she was smiling as she walked down the hallway to the kitchen.

It didn’t take long to pack up the cookies in boxes. Once she’d covered the frosting with wax paper, she closed the lids and carried the boxes out to the Chevy Blazer the neighborhood kids called her “cookie truck.” There were other people in town with old Chevy Blazers, but Hannah had made hers distinctive. She’d painted it candy-apple red and there were signs advertising The Cookie Jar on both sides.

The Corner Tavern was only a few miles from her condo complex and Hannah pulled into the parking lot with five minutes to spare. She found a shady parking spot under the canopy of an elm tree and got out to check the status of the cookies she’d secured in the back. The cookies were fine and she replaced the windshield sunscreen she’d used to cover them, locked her truck, and walked across the parking lot to the entrance.

The air-conditioning was running full blast and she reveled in the cool air that came out to greet her as she opened the door of the restaurant. The interior was rustic with lots of greenery and the air was perfumed with the scent of bacon, sausage, and breakfast steaks on the grill.

“Hi, Hannah,” the hostess greeted her. “He’s here already. I gave him that table you like in the back.”

“Thanks!” Hannah said, even though the hostess had turned away to greet another big party of customers who’d come in behind her. She moved toward the main entrance, but stopped to pet Roscoe, the huge grizzly bear that stood in a fighting stance near the door. Roscoe was old, but he’d been recently rejuvenated by a taxidermy firm in Sauk Centre at considerable expense, but the patrons had taken up a collection to help in the effort. As everyone said who’d dropped a bill or coins in the collection box that had hung on the wall next to the huge grizzly, “This place wouldn’t be right without Roscoe.”