Red Velvet Cupcake Murder (Hannah Swensen, #16)(66)

Moishe purred, soaking up the attention, and Hannah smiled the proud cat owner’s smile. “He likes you, Jenny.”

“And I like him. You three can go right down to Miss Donnelly’s room. She’s expecting you.”

Hannah and Norman walked down the hallway with Moishe leading the way. Hannah was surprised at how well he walked on a leash. He seemed quite comfortable in this environment and that was good. She even began to wonder if he could be a therapy cat for some of Doc Knight’s other patients.

“Are there any nuts in that Monkey Bread?” Norman asked her.

“No. I decided not to put them in. I wasn’t sure if Barbara could chew them.”

“She might be able to chew them, but she still has some healing to do. Soft food would be best for a week or so.”

“How was she when you saw her?”

“Good. She was really happy to get the bridge even though it’s only a temporary. She said she was tired of looking like a bag lady.”

“So she was . . . rational?”

“Yes. She didn’t say anything strange at all. And she knew who I was and who Doc Knight was. She even called her nurse by name.” Norman stopped and frowned slightly. “Of course the nurse was wearing a name tag, so I guess that’s not as important as I thought it was.”

“It’s still a big improvement.”

“I know. I told Roger that, and he seemed very relieved. He was really worried about Barbara’s condition.”

“Roger visited Barbara?”

“No, I ran into him in the lobby. He was out here to visit his father.”

Hannah sighed deeply. “Poor Roger!”

“I know. First he got the news that his father was terminal, and now his fiancée is dead. He didn’t look good, Hannah. I don’t think he got any sleep at all last night.”

“I can believe that.”

“All he could talk about was how much he missed Bev. I think he really loved her.”

Hannah didn’t reply, mostly because she didn’t know what to say. Roger may have loved Doctor Bev, but it was a cinch she hadn’t loved him. She’d made it clear to Hannah, Andrea, and Lisa that she regarded Roger as a gourmet meal ticket and no more than that. Roger would have been bitterly disappointed if he’d married Doctor Bev and then found out the truth about her. It would be kinder to leave him with his illusions.

“Why so quiet?” Norman asked.

“Just thinking,” Hannah said, not wanting to mention the subject of her thoughts even though she was ninety-nine percent certain that Norman no longer had any illusions about Doctor Bev.

Norman’s cell phone rang and he glanced at the display. “It’s Mike,” he said. “I think I’d better take it.”

They were only steps from the small waiting room for expectant fathers and Hannah glanced in to see that it was deserted. “In here,” she said, leading the way.

“Hi, Mike,” Norman greeted him as he took a chair by the window overlooking the lake. “What’s up?” He listened a minute and then he gave a little laugh. “You’re right. She’s here. Hold on a second and I’ll put her on the . . . What was that? You did? Four times?” There was another pause and then Norman laughed. “You’re probably right. Just a second and I’ll check.”

Norman turned to Hannah. “Take out your cell phone, Hannah. Mike says he tried to call you four times and he couldn’t even leave a voice mail.”

“That’s because I don’t have voice mail,” Hannah told him. “But my phone’s on.” She rummaged around in the bottom of her saddlebag-size purse and drew it out to check. “I don’t understand why he couldn’t get through to . . . Uh-oh!”

Norman spoke into his own phone again. “Hannah said Uh-oh. Do you know what that means?” He listened for Mike’s answer and then he chuckled. “You’re probably right. Hold on a second and I’ll ask her.” Norman turned to Hannah with a grin. “Mike seems to think that you probably forgot to charge your phone again.”

Hannah sighed. She hated to admit it, but Mike was right. She had forgotten to charge her cell phone at The Cookie Jar even though Andrea had gone to the phone store to get her the right charger and even plugged it into the outlet at the end of the counter.

“Is he right?” Norman asked, looking amused.

“Yes,” Hannah said, even though she really didn’t want to admit that Mike and Norman were right.

“That’s okay. You can talk to him on my phone.” Norman handed it over.

“Hi, Mike,” she said.

“Hi. So you forgot to charge it?”

“Yes, I forgot to charge it.”

“Again?”

“Yes, again. And I’ve got the charger Andrea bought for me plugged in at The Cookie Jar. I’ve got one at home too, and I even put up reminder notes by both chargers. At first the notes worked, but they don’t seem to work anymore.”

“That’s because you got used to them. Move them to a new location. You’ll notice them then. And when they stop working in the new spots, move them again. When you get used to seeing something, you just take it for granted until it’s not there anymore.”

What Mike had just said resonated in Hannah’s mind. She was always there, either in her condo, or at work. And she always cooked for him. Did Mike take her for granted? Would he appreciate her a little more if suddenly she wasn’t there anymore?”