Raspberry Danish Murder (Hannah Swensen #22)(71)

Hannah laughed and opened the door. Mike stepped in, followed by Lonnie, and assumed a stern look as he faced Norman. “We heard that!” he said. “And we don’t need any practice. We know how to break down a door.”

“Sorry,” Norman apologized. “I was just kidding.”

“So am I.” Mike grinned to show that he hadn’t taken offense. “Actually, we’ve never had occasion to break down a door, and Hannah’s door is pretty solid. I checked it out the first time I came here.” He turned to Hannah. “Good for you, Hannah. You looked through the peephole.”

Michelle and Lonnie greeted each other, and then Michelle turned to Mike. “Do you two have time to eat a piece of Sally’s Almond Custard Pie with Raspberry Glaze?”

“That sounds interesting,” Mike responded. “Sure, we have time. We’re off work unless we get a call. We’re always on call when we’re working on a murder investigation.”

Michelle and Lonnie began talking and Hannah turned to Mike. “I don’t suppose you had a chance to call your friend about the money yet?”

“Yes, I did. He checked out the serial numbers and they’re still in circulation. That means they’re not reported as stolen. And he thinks it’s really doubtful that they’re counterfeit.”

“I’ll put on the coffee and get the pie,” Michelle said to Hannah. And then she turned to Lonnie. “Why don’t you help me in the kitchen, Lonnie?”

Very sneaky, Hannah thought. Her sister had found a perfect way to get Lonnie away from Mike so that she could ask him questions about their investigation.

Norman exchanged glances with Hannah, and Hannah knew he’d figured out exactly what Michelle was doing.

“She’s probably going to pump Lonnie about our investigation,” Mike commented, sitting down at Hannah’s dining room table. “I warned him about that.”

Well, so much for being sneaky! Hannah thought, chuckling inwardly. Michelle should have known that Mike would catch on.

Because Mike knew exactly what was going on, Hannah decided to take the bull by the horns. She motioned Norman to a chair and addressed Mike. “Speaking of investigations, how are you coming along?”

“Things are proceeding normally,” Mike said, narrowing his eyes at her. “And how are you doing?”

“I’ve developed a suspect list in view of their motives.”

“Good for you. Who’s on it?”

“Scotty MacDonald, for one.”

Mike didn’t look at all surprised. “Okay. What’s his motive?”

“Jealousy. He wanted the job as head cameraman.”

“That’s all?”

“No. He got over that when he found out that P.K. wasn’t trying for the job. But Scotty always wanted the office that they gave to Ross. He understood when Ross got it, but he hated seeing P.K. take it over while Ross was gone.”

Mike smiled. “Good for you! I assume you went out to the Lake Eden Inn and talked to Dick at the bar?”

“Yes, we were there tonight. Norman took us out to dinner and we all stopped at the bar to ask Dick about Scotty.”

Mike turned to Norman. “Did you know that Hannah was going to ask Dick about Scotty?” When Norman nodded, Mike faced Hannah again. “So, Norman is your Lonnie on this case?”

Hannah laughed. “I guess you could say that. And Michelle’s helping me, too.”

“And you’re pretending to be me, the law enforcement authority and lead investigator?”

Hannah was taken aback slightly. When Mike was investigating a murder, it was more difficult to read his intent. And perhaps that was what made him such a good interrogator. Her great-grandmother’s phrase popped into her mind. You can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar. She smiled at Mike. “Sorry, Mike. I didn’t mean to step on your toes.”

“You didn’t. I just wanted to give you a hard time before I told you anything. I figure you’ll appreciate it more now.”

Hannah bristled. “That was . . .” She paused as she recalled the phrase she’d remembered and decided to change what she’d originally intended to say. “That’s understandable, I guess. It’s just that I’m emotionally involved in this case. Not only was P.K. my friend, but if Ross were going to contact anyone at KCOW, it would have been P.K. I know P.K. would have told me if he’d heard from Ross. And now . . . P.K. is gone.” Hannah felt tears come to her eyes and she blinked them away. “It’s a little like I lost my last link with Ross.”

“I’m sorry, Hannah.” Mike reached out to pat her hand. “I didn’t think of it that way. I’ve had people accuse me of not being empathetic enough and maybe they’re right.”

“It’s okay,” Hannah told him, wondering if she’d gone a bit overboard. She’d told Mike the truth, but she didn’t want to be the type of person who played on someone’s sympathy.

“Anyway,” Mike continued, “Lonnie and I spent the day driving to all the candy company’s retail outlets in a fifty-mile radius. They don’t keep the names of their customers, but they do have a code for the type of boxed candy that P.K. ate. We found some hits, but if the customer pays cash, the store isn’t required to keep a record of the name.”