Raspberry Danish Murder (Hannah Swensen #22)(37)

“I remember when she was little. She loved bacon and she always ate her pancakes first and saved her bacon for last. I’ve got my fingers crossed, Norman. The blue one would make a good car for her.”

“Why?”

“It’s not too large, and that means she wouldn’t have any problem parking. And it’s not so small that it wouldn’t hold everything she usually carries with her. It has a back seat and that would be good for passengers, and it looks sporty, but it’s also a sedan.”

Five minutes later, Michelle was back. She parked the car and she looked very excited as she ran over to join them. “Is it okay if I choose the blue one, Hannah?”

“Of course,” Hannah answered quickly. “You can have any car that you want.”

“But what if it’s a lot more than the money Cyril could get for Ross’s car?”

“Don’t worry about that. Cyril and Lonnie picked out the used cars that were an even trade, or very close to it.”

Michelle gave them a big, happy smile. “Then I’ll take the blue one! I’ve always wanted a car like that.” She threw her arms around her sister and gave her a big hug. “Thank you, Hannah! Lonnie and Cyril both checked it out, and they said it runs perfectly.”

“Then go tell them that you made your decision and you want it,” Hannah urged her.

“I will! I can hardly wait to drive it to The Cookie Jar.”

When Michelle ran off, Hannah turned to Norman. “I’m going to go talk to Cyril.”

“That’s fine with me. I’ll leave, too. I really should get down to the clinic.”

Hannah was surprised. “But I thought Doc Bennett was taking over your appointments.”

“He is, but I have some paperwork to do. I’m way behind on my billing. I’ll see you later, Hannah.”

“Great. I’ll be testing out some new cookies today and I’ll save samples for you.”

Once Norman had left, Hannah walked over to Cyril, Michelle, and Lonnie. “Could I see you for a moment, Cyril?”

“Sure thing.” Cyril moved away from Michelle and Lonnie. “What’s up, Hannah?”

“Two things. Let’s go to your office. We can talk on the way.”

Hannah waited until they were completely out of earshot, and then she broached the first subject. “Something occurred to me last night, but it was too late to call you. Did the man who bought Ross’s car know that P.K. died in it?”

“No. There was no reason to tell him.”

“But I thought you had to file a report when the car had been in an accident.”

“You do if the damage is over a certain amount. This was less.”

“I wonder if the man would have bought it if he’d known.”

“I think he would have, but we weren’t required to tell him so we didn’t. I’m really sorry about P.K., Hannah. I liked him, and I liked his girlfriend, too.”

“You knew his girlfriend?”

“I only met her once, but she left a lasting impression.” Cyril gave a little chuckle. “P.K. bought one of my used cars for her as an engagement present. He said she’d always wanted a Jeep and we had a nice used Wrangler on the lot. It didn’t have that many miles on it, but it needed to be repainted. P.K. told me that was fine because he was going to have it repainted in Pinkie’s favorite color before he gave it to her.”

“Her name was Pinkie?”

“That’s what he called her, but I think it must have been short for something else. P.K. said that pink was her favorite color and she’d always wanted a pink Jeep. He was going to sign it over to her right before he proposed and gave her an engagement ring.”

“That’s a really nice engagement present.”

“Yes, and it’s unique. I’ve never seen a pink Jeep before.”

“Neither have I!” Hannah gave a little laugh. “Did you paint her Jeep here?”

“No, P.K. took it to one of those places that paint your whole car in a day. He picked it up the next day and brought it back here. We put it up on the hoist so she wouldn’t see it right away and it could be a surprise. They got engaged in bay two of my garage.”

“She didn’t know about the pink Jeep?”

“She didn’t know about any of it, including the ring P.K. hid in the glove box. We lowered the hoist and you should have seen her face! P.K. handed her the keys, told her that the Jeep was his present for her, and said that there was another present for her in the glove box. They got in, she opened the glove box and found the engagement ring, and they kissed for what must have been a whole five minutes. My mechanics still talk about how much fun we had that day.”

“I can see why.” Hannah was still amused at the idea of a pink Jeep. “Did she love her pink Jeep?”

“She surely did. She was totally in love with the paint job, and she even noticed that they painted the inside of the glove box and all four wheel wells. That was a great day, Hannah. We toasted them with champagne for us and sparkling apple juice for them because P.K. had told us that they didn’t drink. We closed the shop early that day, and all the customers who came in to pick up their cars joined in the party.”

“I wish I’d been here.”

“So do I. We really had a good time. We ordered pizza and made sure we got a special chicken and mushroom one for her because she doesn’t eat red meat. And when a couple of the mechanics’ wives came to pick them up, we turned on the radio and danced to the music. Then Bridget came in with the engagement cakes she’d baked for them.”