Red Velvet Cupcake Murder (Hannah Swensen, #16)(37)

Almost as one, the three women shook their heads.

“I didn’t think so. Oh, well.” Doctor Bev gave a deep sigh.

“I’ll just have to go through an agency. I’ll need a housekeeper, a maid, a landscaper for the rooftop garden, and a personal assistant. Just think about it. If I can find suitable locals, it could be a real boost to Lake Eden’s economy. Isn’t that just wonderful?”

There was dead silence for what seemed like an eternity, and then Doctor Bev laughed. “I didn’t expect a warm welcome. Norman warned me about that at lunch today.”

“Did you and Uncle Norman go back to the café?” Tracey asked her.

“No, sweetie. We went to lunch at the Lake Eden Inn. That’s where I’m staying right now, you know.”

“I know. Mom told me. She said Aunt Sally called to tell Grandma and then Grandma called to tell Mom, and . . .”

“That’s enough, Tracey!” Andrea interrupted her.

“Sorry, Mom. I’ll go to the kitchen and get some more lemonade so the adults can talk.”

“So precious,” Doctor Bev said, smiling sweetly. The phrase, Butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth, crossed Hannah’s mind. “And Tracey’s so talkative, too. Between your little Tracey and Norman, I learned everything I needed to know about coming back to Lake Eden to live. Norman’s not too happy about it, but I’m very good with men like Norman. He’ll come around. I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if he spends more time at my penthouse than he does at his dental clinic.”

“How about Roger?” Hannah asked, despite her vow to keep silent. “You’re still engaged to him, aren’t you?”

“Of course I am. I’ve got Roger right where I want him. I’m very good with men like Roger, too. And Roger can give me so much more than Norman ever could.”

Hannah held her breath as Doctor Bev stopped speaking and the silence deepened again. There was no way she was going to ask another question and it was clear that Andrea felt the same way. Lisa, however, didn’t share their restraint. “So you’re telling us that you’re after Norman again?” she asked.

“Why, my goodness! I guess I am! He’s such a nice man, who could resist? And I know he’ll come around to my way of thinking once he realizes that Roger won’t be spending much time with me in Lake Eden. When your lover’s away, it’s always nice to rely on your other male . . . friends.” Doctor Bev stopped speaking and glanced at her watch. “Oh, my! Just look at the time. I really must be going. I promised to let Richard drive my new car and the dome is due to arrive in less than twenty minutes.” She gave the most insincerely sweet smile Hannah had ever seen. “I’m also very good with men like Richard, you know. Actually . . . now that I think about it, I’m really very good with all the men.” She turned to Hannah and narrowed her eyes. “You really ought to keep an eye on me, Hannah. You might learn a thing or two about how to handle men . . . or perhaps not.”

That said, Doctor Bev picked up the box with the cupcakes and left the porch, leaving the screen door open behind her.

“What a witch!” Lisa said, and both Hannah and Andrea knew which word she might have used if Tracey hadn’t been close by. She got up to close the screen door, and came back to sit down again. “She said she was going to let Richard drive her car. Who’s Richard?”

“Mayor Bascomb,” both Hannah and Andrea answered, almost simultaneously.

Lisa looked thoughtful. “Do you think that . . . ?”

“Probably,” Andrea said before Lisa could finish her question. “He’s been known to play the field. Mother told me that he once had three women on the string, not counting his wife, and not one of them knew about the others.”

“Oh, my!” Lisa looked shocked.

“It’s true,” Hannah told her, starting to grin. “And it seems to me that both Doctor Bev and the mayor have the same talent for multitasking.”

Perhaps it was childish and only one of them could qualify as a child, but all four of them had cheered right along with the crowd on the street when the mammoth flatbed truck had arrived with the dome. They’d cheered again when the gigantic crane had lifted the dome, and yet again when it had risen slowly up into the air.

“That crane is really huge,” Lisa breathed, watching the dome sway as it ascended higher and higher.

“I’m glad we’re watching it from here,” Andrea commented. “I’d hate to be out on the street standing under that dome. I wouldn’t be able to stop thinking about what would happen if it fell.”

“You’d be okay if you were under it and it fell straight down,” Tracey pointed out. “It’s a dome. It would fit right over you.”

“It won’t fall,” Lisa said. “Herb told me that it’s attached to the crane with steel cables. They’re interwoven and even if one strand breaks, the other strands will hold.”

Andrea didn’t look convinced. “I still wouldn’t want to take the chance. Look how it’s swaying up there.”

Hannah gave a little gasp as the dome rocked from side to side and rose past the second floor of the hotel. “I’ve never seen anything like this before!”

“Neither have I,” Tracey confided. “I wonder if my whole class is here.”