Red Velvet Cupcake Murder (Hannah Swensen, #16)(70)

“I love Monkey Bread. My mother used to bake it. Does it have chocolate?”

“Yes. I got the recipe from Lisa’s oldest sister.”

“That’s wonderful, Hannah. It’s the same recipe that my mother used. She made it for a baby shower once and . . . and your partner’s sister asked her for the recipe.”

“We’d better go, Hannah.” Norman glanced out into the hallway. “Here comes Barbara’s nurse and she’s probably going to tell us our visiting time is up.”

“Jenny!” Hannah said, recognizing the nurse as she walked into the room.

“That’s it!” Barbara exclaimed. “It’s Jenny!” And then she turned to Jenny to explain, “The last time Hannah was here, I told her your name sounded like money. And it does. Jenny sounds like penny. I said that, didn’t I, Hannah?”

“Yes, you did.” Hannah turned toward Jenny. “You said you were working another shift. Are you Barbara’s nurse tonight?”

“Yes. I’m staying with Barbara in her room. They’re bringing in a cot in a couple of minutes.”

“You’re going to sleep in here?” Barbara asked her.

“That’s right.”

“Oh, good!” Barbara turned to Hannah. “Jenny can help in case the monster comes back.”

Uh-oh! Here we go again! Hannah’s mind formed the words that she wasn’t about to speak aloud.

“What monster is that?” Norman asked in a normal conversational tone of voice.

“The first time I saw it I thought it looked like a big white rat. That’s what I told you, isn’t it, Hannah?”

“Yes, that’s what you told me.”

“Well, I saw it again and this time it looked like a white hunchback seal. The way it moves scares me.”

“It won’t come in while I’m here,” Jenny said.

“I hope not.” Barbara turned to Hannah. “Will you bring . . . the big cat back, Hannah?”

“Of course I’ll bring Moishe back.”

“That makes me feel so much safer. I really don’t like that monster.”

There was silence for a moment. It seemed that none of them knew exactly the right thing to say.

“Of course my brother is a monster, too,” Barbara continued, “even if he doesn’t look like one. He’s a human monster.”

“Your . . . brother?” Hannah managed to ask.

Barbara nodded. “I think he still wants to kill me. He probably thought I’d die jumping off the roof, but I didn’t. If he comes back when there’s nobody here, I’m going to hit him with this!”

Barbara reached out and gripped the bowling trophy tightly. “Dad’s bowling trophy ought to take care of him. It’s heavy enough. The last time he came into my room, I hit him with the water pitcher. It’s too bad it’s made out of plastic. I don’t think it hurt him at all.”

Hannah exchanged glances with Norman. It was time for them to leave. “We’d better go now, Barbara,” she said, reaching out to touch Barbara’s hand. “Enjoy your Monkey Bread.”

“Oh, I will! Goodbye, Hannah. Thank you for baking the Monkey Bread. I’ll share it with . . . Jenny.” She turned to Norman. “Goodbye, my dentist. Thank you for the new teeth because now I can eat that Monkey Bread.”

They could hear Cuddles yowling with excitement as they led Moishe up to Norman’s front door. They’d decided that instead of driving back to Hannah’s condo to take Moishe home and then retracing their steps to go out to the Lake Eden Inn, they’d simply drop him off at Norman’s house so he could play with Cuddles while they dined.

“She knows Moishe’s out here,” Hannah said, greatly amused by the excited squeals that were coming from inside. “I think you’d better get ready to catch her when you open the door. She could run out.”

Norman stuck his key in the lock. “That won’t be a problem. Just lead Moishe inside and she’ll stay right by him.”

Hannah had her doubts, but she did as Norman suggested and Cuddles stuck right by Moishe’s side. They walked in tandem down the hallway and when Hannah took Moishe off the leash, Cuddles immediately initiated a game of chase.

“Careful!” Norman warned, pulling Hannah over to the living room couch. “Sit! Quick! And if they jump, lean forward. Cuddles thinks the back of the couch is a speedway.”

Hannah sat just in time as the two cats raced into the room. She ducked and leaned forward as Cuddles jumped up and Moishe chased her the length of the couch and then down again.

“The coffee table’s next,” Norman informed her. “Good thing I put the glass I used last night in the dishwasher.”

Norman’s coffee table was huge and Hannah watched the two cats skid across its surface. “What’s next?” she asked him.

“The reverse. Watch for Cuddles to do a one-eighty against the far wall.”

Cuddles did precisely what Norman had described and Hannah laughed. “She pushed off like an Olympic swimmer.”

“Lean forward,” Norman warned an instant before the two cats skyrocketed along the back of the couch again.

“Is there more?” Hannah asked as the two cats sped out of the living room.