Raspberry Danish Murder (Hannah Swensen #22)(72)

Norman looked sympathetic. “So you didn’t find anything useful?”

“No, not a thing. We worked all day on a wild goose chase, and we still don’t have any idea who purchased that candy and when it was sent.”

“This case is incredibly frustrating,” Hannah stated the obvious. “We’ve got the method and the time of death, but we can’t alibi anyone the way we usually can by knowing where a suspect was when the victim was killed.”

Mike looked a bit surprised. “That’s exactly right, Hannah! There’s no sure way to clear anyone.”

“So what can we do?” Norman asked him.

“We have to just keep at it until we get a break. Either someone says something to incriminate himself, or points us to someone else. Sooner or later, something’s going to lead us to the killer.”

“We can do that,” Hannah promised. “Can you take time to relax with a beer, Mike? I’ve got some in the refrigerator.”

Mike nodded. “Just one, though. And I’d better follow it with coffee. Lonnie and I are on call.”

“I’ll ask Michelle to get it,” Hannah said, getting up from the couch and walking to the kitchen doorway. Their backs were to her and they couldn’t see that she hadn’t stepped into the kitchen yet.

“Is she holding up okay?” Hannah heard Mike ask Norman.

“She’s okay,” Norman responded. “To tell the truth, Mike, I don’t know how she does it. I was a wreck when I was in Seattle and Bev left me.”

“Was I too hard on her?” Mike asked, and Hannah thought he sounded a bit contrite.

“No. She was baiting you a little.”

“And I took the bait,” Mike admitted. “But I was serious, Norman. Is she really okay?”

“I think so. There’s a harder edge to Hannah lately, and I think it’s because she doesn’t dare let her emotions show. She’s got to be devastated about Ross.”

“Yeah, you’re right. So help me, Norman, if I ever find that guy and he doesn’t have a good reason for leaving the way he did, I’m going to beat him to a pulp.”

“Not without me, you’re not,” Norman said. “After what he did to Hannah, I dream about using him as a punching bag.”

Hannah stepped into the kitchen. She really didn’t want to overhear any more. On one hand, it made her feel special and loved to have two men ready to defend her. On the other hand, she loved Ross and didn’t want to listen to anyone talk about causing him harm.

Michelle and Lonnie were standing by the coffeepot talking, and she gave them a little wave before she opened the refrigerator. The beer was on the bottom shelf, and she grabbed a bottle. She retrieved the magnetic opener that was stuck to the side of the refrigerator, opened the bottle and replaced the tool that the boys in her class had called a church key, wondered about that for a split second, and went back into the living room.

“Thanks,” Mike said, taking the beer when she handed it to him. “Look, Hannah . . . I guess I was a little hard-nosed tonight. That’s because I’m not getting anywhere with this case. Will you please tell me if you get any kind of a break?”

“Of course I will,” Hannah promised. “Maybe it’ll help if we go at this investigation from different directions and contribute any leads we get. Something we discover might fit with something you discover and add up to a clue.”

Mike nodded. “It could help,” he agreed. “The ball’s in your court, Hannah. I still don’t have any idea who put the drugs in that candy.”

“Neither do we, but I do have a couple of suspects. Let me get my list, and you can tell me if you investigated them already.”

A few minutes later, Michelle and Lonnie emerged from the kitchen with pie and coffee. Michelle looked surprised when she saw Mike reading Hannah’s suspect list. “What’s going on?” she asked.

“Since we’re not getting anywhere with our investigation and Mike and Lonnie aren’t getting anywhere either, we decided to try sharing information. We’re hoping that something that we discover and something that Mike and Lonnie discover will combine into an actual clue to the killer’s identity.”

“You’re sharing our information with them?” Michelle was clearly shocked.

“That’s right.”

“Well, this is a first!” Lonnie exclaimed, looking as shocked as Michelle did. “Mike and I have never really worked with you before.”

“Sometimes it takes a radical move to get results,” Mike told him. “This case is so complicated, it just might take all five of us to solve it.”





Chapter Twenty-two


Hannah and Michelle dabbed at their eyes when the funeral service ended.

“No wonder he went by P.K.!” Hannah said to Michelle.

Michelle dabbed at her eyes again, and then she managed a smile. “He told me he didn’t want to be called a cross between a steak and a vacuum cleaner.”

Hannah smiled back, even though she still felt like crying. They’d gone out to Hannah’s cookie truck to compose themselves after the formal service was over. The burial at the graveside was private, attended only by P.K.’s parents and his aunt and uncle.

“Ready?” Hannah asked Michelle.