Raspberry Danish Murder (Hannah Swensen #22)(57)

“Isn’t that a little . . .”

“Rude?” Michelle supplied the word.

“Not exactly rude, but perhaps a bit inappropriate considering that we’re not close family friends. If we get the chance to talk to them, we should offer our condolences, not ask them questions.”

“We don’t have to ask them questions.”

“We don’t? Then how are we going to find out?”

“Mother knows them, and she loves to help you investigate. We’ll get her to ask them.”

Hannah thought about that for no more than a split second. “That could work. Mother’s a genius in social situations. She’ll figure out a way to work it into her condolences.”

“Did you run into anybody else at KCOW?” Michelle asked.

“Yes. Betty Jackson works out there now.”

“Great! Betty’s one of the biggest gossips around. Who did she think did it?”

“She didn’t hazard a guess, but she did suggest that I talk to the guy who thought he’d be head cameraman until they promoted P.K. to the job. His name is Scotty, and he claims he wasn’t that angry at P.K.”

“But Betty thinks it could be a workplace rivalry that was taken to the extreme?”

“She backtracked a little when I asked her if she really thought that Scotty killed P.K., but it’s still possible. I just don’t know, Michelle. I talked to Scotty, and my gut feeling is that he had nothing to do with it.”

“Then you’re probably right.”

“But I can’t assume that my gut is correct. I have to investigate Scotty anyway.”

“I understand. Tell me about everyone else you saw at KCOW and how you feel about them.”

Hannah told Michelle about Carol, describing her in detail. When she was through, Michelle looked thoughtful.

“Did Scotty have an alibi for the time of P.K.’s death?” she asked.

“I didn’t ask him because it doesn’t matter. P.K. died because he ate the drugged candy. The candy was the murder weapon, and it was mailed and delivered days before P.K. ate any.”

“Right. And we don’t know when the killer sent it because the mailer was thrown away.”

“That’s true. And even if we knew when it was mailed, we wouldn’t know who mailed it. P.K.’s killer could have been hundreds of miles away at the time of his death.”

“Or he could have been right here in Lake Eden when P.K. died,” Michelle speculated.

“That’s true, too. This is the only murder case I’ve ever tried to solve where the time of death doesn’t relate in some way to the crime. And to make things even more complicated, the victim might not have been the intended victim.”

Michelle thought about that for a moment. “You’re right. We really can’t assume anything!”

Both sisters were silent for a long moment, and then Michelle spoke again. “Let’s say you really wanted someone dead. You wouldn’t have gone through all the trouble to lace that candy with tranquilizers if you hadn’t wanted them to die. After all, there are easier ways to kill someone. And then you went to the trouble to figure out a way to get the candy delivered to your intended victim without being implicated. At least we know that the killer was very determined to kill without being caught.”

“That’s true,” Hannah agreed. “You’re describing a person who was driven to commit murder.”

“And if you were so driven to kill that particular person in that particular way and you knew it might not happen immediately, wouldn’t you want to stick around to make sure everything eventually happened the way you planned?”

Hannah stared at her youngest sister for a moment and then she smiled. “You’re absolutely right, Michelle. If I were the killer, I’d want to make sure that I was successful and I wouldn’t want to just read about it in the papers. I’d need to know how, and when. And then I’d want to find out how the investigation into the murder was developing, how close the detectives were coming to figuring out the truth.”

“Exactly. And don’t forget about you, Hannah. The killer’s going to want to know how your investigation is developing.”

Hannah gave a little shiver. “You’re right, of course. But what if the killer didn’t succeed? What if the wrong person died?”

Michelle considered that for a moment. “Then the killer would want to get as far away from Lake Eden as fast as he or she could.”

“Right. So we’re right back where we started. We still don’t know if the right person died or if the killer is still in Lake Eden.”

Michelle sighed deeply. “That’s true and I’m fresh out of theories. Investigating P.K.’s murder is terribly frustrating, isn’t it?”

“Yes. And we’re not even taking into account the fact that our emotions are involved.”

“I didn’t even think of that!” Michelle began to frown. “I guess that means we have to try to be dispassionate. If we think about it too much, our emotions will color everything. We’re both upset over what happened to P.K. and . . . I can’t decide if it’s better or worse if we discover that P.K. was the intended victim.”

“And I can’t decide if it’s worse or better if it turns out that Ross was the intended victim.”