Raspberry Danish Murder (Hannah Swensen #22)(80)

“No, he was the head of the technical crew and he ran the light board. He told me it was ancient and it always needed repair.”

“And Pinkie was in the crew, too?”

“I don’t know. He didn’t say.” Michelle sat down next to Hannah at the long library table so that they could look at the yearbook together.

The front pages of the yearbook were filled with class photos. There was the freshman class, the sophomores, and the juniors. The names were listed, but since they didn’t know what Pinkie looked like, they couldn’t identify her.

“Here’s the official photo of the play,” Hannah said, and Michelle leaned closer.

“It gives the names, but that doesn’t do us any good.” Michelle sounded very disappointed. “It just says it’s the cast and crew of Adam’s Rib. That must be the play they did.”

Hannah drew in her breath sharply. “Adam’s Rib! So that’s where Pinkie got it!”

“Got what?”

“Her nickname. She must have had the female lead, the one Katharine Hepburn had in the movie. It was about two married lawyers and they both had red hair. Spencer Tracey’s character and Katharine Hepburn’s character were both called Pinkie, except they were spelled differently. The play is based on a true story about a couple who was getting a divorce. And after the divorce was final, the real couple ended up remarrying. She married her lawyer and he married his lawyer.”

“That’s interesting, but we still don’t know Pinkie’s real name,” Michelle pointed out.

“Let’s try the following year, when both of them were seniors,” Hannah suggested. “Senior pictures are usually head shots and the names are listed. Maybe Pinkie will be wearing pink.”

Michelle nodded. “Okay. If we’re lucky, Pinkie’s high school published the senior photos in color. We did that at Jordan High, but I was on the yearbook staff and I know it cost a lot more. We won’t be able to tell if Pinkie is wearing pink unless Clarissa High went for the color photo option.”

“You’re right.” Hannah felt a bit foolish for not realizing that. When she’d graduated from Jordan High, her senior photo had been published in black and white. “Even if Pinkie’s high school didn’t go for the color option, they may have listed the nicknames under the senior photos.”

“That’s true,” Michelle agreed. “I’ll get the yearbook for the next year and put this one back.”

“Leave it here, Michelle,” Hannah said when her sister reached for the yearbook. “We’ll compare the photo of the cast and crew of Adam’s Rib to the senior photos in the next yearbook. At least we’ll be able to identify the senior photos of the girls who were in the cast and crew of the play.”

“But we still won’t know which one of them is Pinkie,” Michelle pointed out.

“That’s true, but it’s a way of narrowing it down a little. We can eliminate the girls who weren’t in the photo.”

“You’re right. I’ll get the next yearbook.”

Michelle walked to the yearbook section of the library and examined the books that were there. The yearbook for the following year was out of place, and it took her a minute or two to locate it. When she did, she pulled it down, walked back to Hannah to hand it to her, and sat down in her chair again.

“Thanks,” Hannah said, flipping straight to the individual senior photos near the end. “We’re in luck. They’re in color.”

As Hannah paged through the senior photos, Michelle groaned. “There are at least ten girls wearing shades of pink. It must have been a really popular color that year.”

“It must have been,” Hannah agreed, and then she began to smile. “I think I found a match, Michelle!”

Michelle leaned over and studied the photo that Hannah had chosen. “I think you’re right. She has different glasses, but her hairstyle is the same. And she’s wearing a light shade of pink. That’s the girl at the far end of the top row, isn’t it?”

“I think so. Her name is Misty Franklin.”

The two sisters agreed on four more matches, and Hannah wrote them down in her murder book. She’d just finished when Michelle let out a whoop of excitement.

“There’s Pinkie, Hannah!” she exclaimed.

Hannah studied the photo for a moment, and then she turned to the cast and crew photo. “It’s the girl in the center of the front row, and the two photos match. But there are other matches, too. Why do you think that this particular girl is Pinkie?”

“Because she’s short and P.K. mentioned that he could hold out his arm and Pinkie could walk right under it.”

“But how do you know that the girl in the senior photo is short?”

“I can’t tell from her senior photo, but she’s in the front row in the cast and crew photo and almost everyone there is taller than she is. And when they take group photos, the photographer always puts the shortest people in the front row.”

“Good point.” Hannah turned back to the senior photo. “Her name is Mary Jo Hart. Does that sound familiar to you?”

“No, but P.K. never mentioned her by name.”

Hannah turned back to the senior photos. “I think you could be right about Mary Jo Hart, Michelle.”