Raspberry Danish Murder (Hannah Swensen #22)(14)

“Of course. But . . .”

“Not now, Michelle,” Doc interrupted what was certain to be a question about P.K. “Just take care of your mother for us. There’s nothing you can do to help out here.”

Hannah watched as her sister’s face crumpled into a mask of sorrow and loss. Michelle had also caught the message behind Doc’s words. She slipped an arm around Michelle’s shoulders, gave her a comforting squeeze, and leaned close. “I’ll take care of everything out here,” she said. “You take care of Mother.”

Michelle swallowed hard. And then she nodded. “I will,” she promised, reaching out to take their mother’s arm and leading Delores to Doc’s car.

Hannah waited until Michelle and her mother had left, and then she turned to Doc. “Bad?” she asked him.

“Yes. Mike’s down there now and he filled me in about the video. What do you want to know?”

“Was P.K. drunk?”

“No.”

“Drugged?”

Doc gave a slight nod. “That’s my guess. I’ll know more after I take your mother home and get back to the hospital. They’ll be here to transport him soon.”

Hannah asked the question she knew Michelle would have asked. “Was P.K. in pain?”

“That’s very doubtful.” Doc reached out to pat her shoulder. “I’ll know more later, but I’m almost certain he was already gone when he went off the road.”

“Did Doctor Bob find him?”

“No. Bob delivered a calf at Karl Schilling’s farm. He said it was a breech birth and Karl called him to help. Bob was just driving out when he heard a car horn. As he rounded the bend, he heard the sound of branches breaking and he knew that someone had gone in the ditch.”

“So he stopped to help?”

“Of course. And that’s when he saw the deer by the side of the road.”

“P.K. hit a deer?”

“He sideswiped a deer as the car went into the ditch. Bob was about to climb down in the ditch when your mother and I pulled up. I told him to take care of the deer and I’d take care of anyone who was in the car.”

“Is the deer dead?”

“No, just stunned. Nothing broken, no major injuries. Bob thinks it’ll be up on its feet in a couple of minutes and hightailing it back into the woods.”

Doc rubbed his hands together, and Hannah realized that he was cold in his dress coat and thin leather gloves. “Do you want some hot coffee, Doc? I’ve got a thermos in my truck.”

“I can wait until I get back to the hospital, but I’ll bet Mike and Lonnie could use some. If you give me the thermos, I’ll take it down there to them.”

“I’ll take it. I’ve got on snow boots.”

“Not on a bet, Hannah. I know the real reason you want to take that coffee down to Mike and Lonnie.”

Hannah did her best to look perfectly clueless. “What do you mean?”

“You want to go down there because it’ll give you a chance to pump them for information. Isn’t that right?”

Hannah sighed. “You know me too well, Doc.”

“That’s because I delivered you. I’m the first person you ever saw. And that means I’ve known you all your life.”

Hannah smiled at the predictable line. Doc told all three of the Swensen sisters the very same thing. “How about Mother? Will she be all right if you take her back to the penthouse and go back to the hospital?”

“She’ll be fine. You underestimate your mother, Hannah. She’s a lot stronger than you think she is.”

“But she’s had a nasty shock. Except for Doctor Bob, you and Mother were first at the scene, and it must have been . . .” Hannah paused to think of the right word. “. . . an upsetting sight.”

“It would have been if I hadn’t blocked your mother’s view. Car accidents are never pretty. The human body is no match for asphalt and metal. Now go get that thermos and I’ll take it down to Mike and Lonnie. Then I want you to take Michelle away before my paramedics arrive. She doesn’t need to see them take P.K. away.”

“But really, Doc,” Hannah began to protest.

“Forget it, Hannah.” Doc took her by the shoulders and turned her around. “Mike always comes over to your place after something like this happens, and you can pump him for information later.”





Chapter Five


When the alarm clock began its predictable high-pitched electronic beeping at four-thirty the next morning, Hannah sat up in bed. She’d been plagued by dreams of cars skidding off roads covered in ice and crashing into fences and snowbanks. It didn’t take a genius to know why her dreams had featured winter driving accidents. She gave a sorrowful sigh for P.K. and the fate that had befallen him, and then she threw back the covers and swung her feet over the side of the bed. Michelle might want to talk about P.K.’s death and she wanted to be there for her sister.

Hannah turned to look at the pillow on the opposite side of the bed. It was where Moishe usually slept unless he’d stolen her pillow. There was no orange and white, twenty-three pound cat nestled on the expensive goose down. She gave a fleeting thought about how much she wished that Ross were sleeping there, and then she pushed that unhappy notion from her mind and got up to find Michelle.