Red Velvet Cupcake Murder (Hannah Swensen, #16)(34)

“What now?” Lisa asked Hannah.

“We give him the time for a full professor and then we take them over to the refreshment tent and dump them in Doctor Bev’s lap.”

“Twelve minutes?”

“Yes. That’s still the rule, isn’t it?”

“It’s still the campus legend,” Lisa amended it. “I don’t think it was ever written down in any rule book. Everybody just knows that you have to wait five minutes for an assistant professor to show up for class, and twelve minutes for a full professor. And if they don’t show up by then, you can leave.”

“It’s good to know things haven’t changed that much since I was in college,” Hannah said, glancing up at the clock on the wall. “Roger’s got four minutes left.”

“And here he comes.” Lisa pointed to the gleaming black Mercedes that had just pulled up in front of The Cookie Jar.

“Ladies,” Roger greeted them with a little salute before he handed Hannah his credit card. “Are you all ready for the big day?”

“We’re ready and so are you,” Lisa told him. “Your order’s on that table. Would you like some help carrying the boxes out to your car?”

“I got it.” Roger aimed his remote out the window and the trunk of his car popped open. “Just help me load up.”

While Hannah ran the card, Lisa loaded Roger’s arms with boxes. When the last one was safely in the trunk, Hannah gave the credit card and the receipt back to Roger.

“Thanks, ladies,” Roger said, writing in the total and signing his name. “See you at the spectacle.”

Once Roger had driven away, Lisa went to lock the front door and turn the OPEN sign to CLOSED. Hannah headed for the cash register with the credit card receipt and as she slipped it into the section they used for receipts, she glanced at the total.

“Guess what, Lisa. Roger tipped us twenty dollars.”

“Wow!” Lisa exclaimed, looking impressed. “That’s more than most people around here tip.”

“Well, he can afford it. Are you ready to go?”

“Yes.” Lisa gave a final glance around the room as Hannah flicked off the overhead lights. “Uh-oh!”

“What?”

“I forgot to load Roger up with the cupcakes you baked for Doctor Bev. There wasn’t room on the table where we stacked the bar cookies and I put them on the table next to it. They’re still sitting there.”

Hannah shrugged. “That’s not the end of the world. Doctor Bev’s not going to serve those anyway. We can just drop them off at the refreshment tent.”

“Correction. I can just drop them off at the refreshment tent. As far as Doctor Bev knows, I have no quarrel with her.”

“But you actually do have a quarrel with Doctor Bev?”

“Of course I do, but quarrel isn’t really the right word. Despise would be more like it.”

Hannah was surprised. Lisa was slow to anger and even slower to hate. Spite was a very strong emotion and Hannah had no idea what Doctor Bev had done to Lisa to deserve being despised. “What did Doctor Bev do to you?”

“Oh, she didn’t do much to me except treat me like a hired hand. That’s to be expected with people like her. I don’t like what she did to you and Norman. She’s scum of the earth and she has no conscience. That’s why I despise her.”

The view from the Petersons’ porch was perfect and the wicker porch furniture was truly comfortable even though the wicker was made out of plastic and the cushions were weatherproof in case the rain came through the screens in the summer. There was a colorful rug on the porch floor and Hannah smiled as she recognized the braided material. “That rug is made from plastic bags, isn’t it, Lisa?”

“Yes. It could be one of my mother’s rugs. She used to make them for rummage sales at St. Jude’s church.”

“I always liked them. They’re practically indestructible.”

“That’s true. All you have to do is hose them off in the yard if they get dirty and hang them over the clothesline to dry. The only bad thing is that it’s a lost art.”

“What do you mean? People still make braided rugs, don’t they?”

“Sure, but they’re talking about banning plastic bags. They’re bad for the environment.”

“I know. Florence doesn’t use them anymore at the Red Owl. It’s paper or your own shopping bags that you bring in with you.”

“Remember the recycling drives we had at Jordan High to make money for new band uniforms and things like that?”

“I remember.”

Lisa looked thoughtful. “Maybe we should have a plastic grocery bag drive before they’re all gone. We could store them somewhere for the ladies who still make braided rugs. I think I’ll talk to Herb about that.”

“Hi, everybody!” Andrea opened the porch door and stepped in. Tracey was right behind her and she hurried over to give Hannah a hug.

“Isn’t this exciting?” she asked, hugging Lisa, too. “We saw Mr. Dalworth and he said the crane is going to be late because they ran into some traffic. The driver called him and said they’d be here at three o’clock.”

After soft drinks were dispensed and everyone had pulled chairs into good viewing positions, they sat and watched the cars and the walkers go by. It seemed the whole town of Lake Eden was turning out for what Roger had called the spectacle.