Red Velvet Cupcake Murder (Hannah Swensen, #16)(64)

“The window-washing safety cage. I’ll show you.” Andrea stepped over to the edge of the dome and took what looked like a television remote out of a pocket built into the three-foot-high wall that supported the dome. “Watch this.”

Hannah watched as Andrea aimed the remote at the space next to the staircase and pressed a button. Almost immediately something looking vaguely like a cage began to emerge. As it moved closer to the place where Andrea was standing, she unlatched fasteners on one of the struts and pulled the section open.

“That’s really clever,” Hannah said, watching as the cage stopped directly in front of the open section.

“I know. The first time I saw it, I couldn’t believe my eyes. All you have to do if you’re a window washer is climb aboard with your equipment and drive it around the track on the outside of the dome. It’s got controls inside and you can stop, wash a section, and then move on. It’s rated really high for safety because once you’re in place, you can’t fall off like you could on traditional scaffolding.”

Hannah came over for a closer look. “I wouldn’t want to climb in there, but I’m impressed.”

“I feel exactly the same way. When Roger first showed it to me, he asked me if I wanted to go for a ride.”

“Did you?”

“Absolutely not! I told him I’d rather die than get into something that hung outside the dome above the third floor!” Andrea shut the hinged section, fastened it in place, and pointed the remote at the cage. “There it goes. It fits into an enclosure on the outside of the building where it can’t get rained or snowed on.”

“Pure genius,” Hannah said.

“I think so too. Let’s go look at that patio furniture. I’m willing to bet that if you bought this place, you wouldn’t replace it.”

Hannah grinned as she followed her sister to the pool area. Once a real estate agent, always a real estate agent. It was clear that Andrea hadn’t given up on trying to sell her the penthouse. That was ridiculous, but Hannah found herself hoping that she’d know the people who bought it and they’d ask her to visit them often.

Chapter Twenty-Two


“Ready?” Norman asked, coming in the back door of The Cookie Jar with Moishe.

“I’m ready,” Hannah said, bending down to give Moishe a pet. “You brought Moishe in with you.”

“Of course I did. I’d never leave a pet in the car. Do you have any idea how hot it can get in a closed car?”

“Yes, and I’d never do it either, even if I thought I’d only be a minute. A minute has a way of stretching into longer than you expect.” Hannah picked up the two bakery boxes on the counter. “I’d better not forget these.”

“What are they?”

“Monkey Bread for Barbara. Lisa gave me the recipe. It’s from her sister, Tony. Do you want to take my truck?”

“No, let’s leave it for Michelle.”

“That’s fine with me. Let’s go.”

Once they got to the car, Norman opened the trunk so that she could put the bakery boxes inside and then he opened one of the rear doors and set Moishe on the seat. Then he opened her door and Hannah got in. “Thanks, Norman,” she said. “You’re a good doorman.”

“I’ll remember that if I ever give up dentistry. It could be a second career choice for me.” Norman slid in behind the wheel. “What’s Monkey Bread?” he asked her as he started the car and backed out of the parking space.

“It’s like a giant chocolate chip cinnamon roll baked in a Bundt pan. Mother said Barbara was hungry for cinnamon rolls and chocolate so I brought her Monkey Bread. It’s made with refrigerated biscuits, the kind you buy in tubes at the store.”

“So it’s a lot faster to make Monkey Bread than it is to make yeast dough?”

“Right. I didn’t really have time to bake my Special Cinnamon Rolls so Lisa suggested Monkey Bread as an alternative. One thing I like about it is that you can slice it like a cake, or pull off chunks and eat it that way.”

Norman turned left at the end of Main Street and drove out of town. “Is there any news, Hannah?”

Hannah knew exactly what Norman meant. When he asked about news, he wasn’t referring to Lake Eden gossip or national headlines. Norman knew that Mike had taken her in for questioning. He wanted to know if there were any new developments.

“There’s news on a different front,” Hannah told him. “We managed to clear up Clayton Wallace’s situation this afternoon.”

“You can prove it wasn’t a suicide?”

“No, I can’t prove it, but what I learned casts serious doubts that he committed suicide. And that should be enough to get the Minneapolis Police Department to change their findings.”

“And then the insurance company will have to pay off?”

“That’s it exactly. I’ll tell you all about it later, but I do have a little news on that other front.”

“The accident that wasn’t an accident?”

“Yes,” Hannah answered, turning toward him. “At least Mike doesn’t think I did it.”

“Are you sure? Michelle said he was pretty rough on you down at the sheriff’s station last night.”

“That’s true. He was. But things were different today.”