Peach Cobbler Murder
Page 14
“And this is the same bear?”
“So the story goes. The girl’s father had the bear stuffed because it was such a fine specimen, and he gave it to the newlyweds as a wedding present. And when Nicholas and his wife built the Corner Tavern a few years later, the bear was installed inside the entrance to greet diners. Give him a pat, Norman. It’s supposed to be good luck.”
Norman gave the bear a pat. “Forty-two teeth. Twelve incisors, four canine, sixteen premolars, and ten molars.”
“What?”
“I thought for a while I’d like to be a zoo dentist.” They’d reached the front of the line and Norman stepped up to the reservations desk. “Norman Rhodes. I have a reservation. Three for dinner.”
While the woman at the desk looked for Norman’s name on her list, Hannah amused herself by adding up the inconsistencies in the story about the bear. For one thing, there hadn’t been any grizzly bears in Minnesota for well over a hundred and fifty years. Back then grizzlies had only occupied a narrow area on the western border of the state. Lake Eden was in central Minnesota, where there were no known grizzly sightings.
Hannah might have believed the story if it had been about a black bear. Black bears, the kind one would encounter in the Lake Eden area, were approximately a hundred and thirty pounds. The black bear had a straight face profile, while the grizzly had a dish face. The black bear had no hump, while the grizzly did. The black bear didn’t grow a ruff of long hair in the spring and the fall, and it had short, dark claws. The grizzly grew a ruff, and had long, lighter-colored claws.
This was a grizzly. It was as simple as that. And there were other inaccuracies in Nick’s great-grandfather’s story that had to do with bear behavior. Bears can run downhill easily. And bears can see as well as a man. Hiding at the bottom of a hill wouldn’t have gained Great-Grandfather Nicholas any time. And thinking a bear couldn’t see you because his eyesight was bad was just plain ridiculous.
Hannah patted Albert again. He was nearly three and a half feet across at the shoulders and that was even more proof that he was a grizzly. Hannah was willing to bet that the first Nicholas had bought the stuffed bear from a taxidermist, installed his ursine purchase in his new tavern, sworn his wife and in-laws to secrecy, and made up the whole story to pass on to future generations.
“Here it is,” the woman behind the reservations desk said, flashing them a smile. “I’m sorry I didn’t find it right away, but that’s because your reservation’s for three and three are already here. They requested two extra chairs though, so you’ll be fine.”
“Did you say three are here?” Norman asked, glancing at Hannah.
“Yes. The first one came in earlier and the second two joined her about fifteen minutes ago.”
“Who are they?” Hannah quizzed the woman. “Were you here when they came in?”
“I don’t know all the names, but Mrs. Sheriff Todd came in first.”
“We were expecting her. She was the third on our reservation. Who are the other two?”
“I’m not sure, but one was wearing a fur coat. I remember her because it looked like one that my sister-in-law bought. She was a blonde and…uh…”
“If the word you’re looking for is plump, it’s my mother,” Norman said.
“You’re right. I was just trying to think of a nice way to say it. Very nice looking, and…she was plump. And the other lady had dark hair and wasn’t at all…er…plump.”
“My mother,” Hannah said, locking eyes with Norman. “Batten down the hatches, Norman. The mothers have invaded.”
The woman at the reservations counter started to laugh, but she sobered quickly. “I’m really sorry about that. How about if I seat you across the room in a private booth? And I don’t let anyone know you’re here?”
Hannah looked at Norman. Norman looked at Hannah. And both of them said, at the very same time, “It’s tempting.” And then they burst into laughter so infectious, the woman at the reservations desk couldn’t help but join in.
Once the jocularity had passed, Norman made a decision. “Better not,” he said. “Family, you know?”
“Believe me, I know!” The hostess gave them a parting smile and turned them over to a waitress, who shepherded them to a table across the room where Andrea, Delores, and Carrie waited.
“Okay,” Andrea said, putting down her fork. “I didn’t say anything while we were eating because you asked us not to, but I got the straight stuff from Doc Knight. Shawna Lee was killed between five and seven at night. Who do you think did it?”
Hannah took the last bite of her steak. It was blood rare, just the way she liked it, and she wasn’t about to start talking about Shawna Lee until she’d enjoyed it. “Mmm. Just a sec.”
Swallowing didn’t take long, but Hannah milked it to the last millisecond. Then she turned to her sister. “I don’t know who did it. All I can do right now is to look at the people who had a motive.”
“Which people are…they…them…who?” Andrea sputtered, never the master of the objective case. And then she rephrased her question. “Who are you going to grill first?”
“I ought to grill me since I had a great motive, but I already know I didn’t do it.”
“Who else?” Andrea asked.
“You,” Hannah said with a sigh.
“What!” Hannah’s sister reached a new level of outrage. “What are you talking about?”
“Well…you didn’t like the fact that Bill went to the Magnolia Blossom Bakery almost every day.”
“That’s true, but I wouldn’t have killed Shawna Lee for that. If I’d killed anyone, it would have been…never mind. You can grill me if you want to. It’s just not going to work out, that’s all.”
“I know that, but I had to say it to be fair. And then there are the deputies that Shawna Lee flirted with,” Hannah went on. “Their wives and girlfriends certainly had a reason to want Shawna Lee out of the picture.”
“Absolutely,” Delores agreed. “And there’s Ronni Ward.”
“Ronni?” Hannah was surprised. “But I thought they were friends.”
“They were until Shawna Lee decided she liked Ronni’s boyfriend. Ronni caught them together in a booth at Bertanelli’s and Ellie told me she thought Ronni was going to kill Shawna Lee before Bert and the dishwasher pulled her off.”
“I wonder how I missed hearing about that,” Hannah mused, jotting down Ronni’s name. “I don’t like doing it, but I’ve got to write down Barbara Donnelly’s name. She was really angry with Shawna Lee for trying to take over her job when Sheriff Grant died and Barbara was out on compassionate leave.”
Carrie’s mouth dropped open. “But I know Barbara, and she’d never do something like that!”
“Of course not, but we can’t discount it, not until we prove she couldn’t have done it.”
“And how do we do that?” Delores wanted to know.
“That’s where you and Carrie come in if you want to help.” When both mothers nodded, Hannah went on, “Andrea just told us that Shawna Lee died between five and seven. Lisa’s wedding started at five. I looked at my watch when I heard the wedding march. What time did it end?”
“Six-fifteen,” Andrea said, with the wedding consultant’s voice of authority.
“Okay. Let’s figure fifteen minutes to kiss the bride, and throw rice, and offer congratulations. How long does it take to get out to the Lake Eden Inn for the reception?”
“Fifteen minutes, maybe twenty,” Norman said.
“Okay, that’s ten to seven. The first people should have started to arrive a little before seven.” Hannah turned to the mothers. “Are you up for making some phone calls?”
“That’s what we’re best at,” Carrie said, smiling at Delores.
“All right. I’m going to ask Lisa to give you the guest books. There was a guest book in the church, and another at the reception. I’ll give you a copy of the suspect list and you’ll check to see if they were at the wedding. If they were, you’ll look for t
heir names in the reception guest book.”
“What good will that do?” Delores asked. “Someone could have left the church, killed Shawna Lee, and driven out to the Lake Eden Inn to attend the reception.”
“That’s true, but you can bracket the names,” Hannah explained. “Nobody left early at the wedding. I know that for a fact. And one of Lisa’s cousins was standing at the entrance to the dining room at the reception, asking people to sign the guest book when they came in.”
“Of course,” Delores said. “All we have to do is call the name ahead of a suspect and the name behind a suspect and see if they remember what time they got to the reception.”
“That’s right.” Hannah smiled at her mother, who’d caught on instantly. “If the suspect took longer than half an hour between leaving the church and arriving at the reception, that suspect could have had time to kill Shawna Lee.”
Delores turned to Carrie, who nodded. Then she turned back to Hannah. “We’ll take care of it.”
“Great! Now all we have to do is clear Mike.”
“You mean Mike Kingston?” Andrea asked.
“Yes. He had an appointment with Shawna Lee at his apartment the night she was killed.”
“An appointment?” Carrie looked as if she couldn’t quite believe her ears. “What does that mean?”
“That’s what he called it. He said he had to get things straight with Shawna Lee. After that, he said he planned to drive out to the reception to hook up with me.”
There was silence for a long, long moment and then Andrea stepped into the breach. “Sorry, Hannah. We didn’t mean to embarrass you. But do you believe him?”
“I don’t know.” Hannah swallowed hard. “I’d like to believe him, but I’m not sure I do. What if he wasn’t telling the truth about the time of his appointment with Shawna Lee?”
“That’s possible,” Delores said with a shrug, “but he could simply be mistaken. Heaven knows men aren’t good with time. Your father wasn’t.”
“Okay, let’s give him the benefit of the doubt on that. But what if the appointment he told me about was really a date?”
Andrea looked shocked. “But he had a date with you for the reception!”
“I know that. Maybe he was planning to squeeze two dates into one evening. Whatever. But just for the purpose of discussion, let’s say that Mike’s appointment with Shawna Lee really was a date. And when he went to the Magnolia Blossom Bakery to pick her up, he found her with another man and shot her?”
Carrie was aghast. “But he’s a sworn sheriff’s deputy!”
“That’s true,” Norman said, “but not even sworn sheriff’s deputies do the right thing all of the time. Mike could have seen Shawna Lee with another man and shot her in a jealous rage.”
“But how about the other man? What happened to him?” Delores asked.
“He was probably just leaving. Mike was a couple minutes early and he stood there looking in the window, getting more and more jealous as Shawna Lee kissed this other guy goodbye. And then, once the other guy was out of the picture, Mike pulled out his gun and shot her.”
Andrea gave a little laugh. “That’s impossible. The first thing they do is check the ballistics, and all the department guns are on file. They’d know right away that Shawna Lee was shot with Mike’s gun.”
“How about his personal piece?” Hannah asked. “Is that on file, too?”
“What personal piece?”
“The handgun he carries in his body belt. It’s a Colt Mustang.”
Delores looked surprised for a moment, and then her eyes narrowed. “How do you know about his body belt?”
“He showed it to us when Norman and I went over to the gym at his apartment.”
“Oh,” Delores said, all smiles again.
“Do you really think Mike could have killed Shawna Lee in a jealous rage?” Andrea asked.
“It’s possible,” Hannah said immediately. “People in a jealous rage don’t think, they just act. I really don’t want to believe Mike could do something like that, but what I believe doesn’t count. Let’s just say I’m not a hundred percent sure he wouldn’t do it.” Hannah looked over at Norman and gave a relieved sigh. “At least you couldn’t have done it, Norman. You were taking the wedding and reception pictures at the time.”
“Only part of the time. The rest of the time, I was on the road. Everyone who’s come into the dental clinic knows that I was upset that you and Lisa might have to close. Who’s to say that I didn’t stop by the Magnolia Blossom Bakery on the way to the reception and knock off your competition?”
Chapter Fourteen
The first thing Hannah did when she got home from the Corner Tavern was to fill her pathetically yowling feline’s food bowl for the fourth time that day. The second thing she did was preheat her oven so that she could test the cookie dough she’d brought home with her. When Norman had dropped her off at The Cookie Jar to pick up her truck, she’d dashed in to get it. There were two bowls, a small one and a large one. The large one contained the cookie dough and the small one contained the frosting. The frosting was easier to work with if it was chilled, and Hannah had no qualms about simply putting it in the back of her vehicle and transporting it home to her condo kitchen. Keeping something chilled was not a problem for the owner of a drafty cookie truck who needed a new heater to reach the nether regions of her vehicle.
Once the oven had reached baking temperature, Hannah got out a cookie sheet, sprayed it with nonstick cooking spray, and assembled the cookies. She’d been working on this recipe for weeks, attempting to get it just right.
By the time the test sheet of cookies came out of the oven, Hannah’s eternal craving for chocolate had grown into a hunger that could not be denied. The cookies she was testing were chocolate, but with chocolate it was always a case of more is better, and she went to the freezer for ice cream. She hadn’t felt like having dessert after the mothers, Andrea, and Norman had thoroughly discussed several murder scenarios with Shawna Lee as the victim and Mike as her cold-blooded killer.
The cookies looked delicious, but looks were often deceiving in the pastry world. If they didn’t pass muster, Hannah would be ruthless and they’d end up sweetening the malodorous depths of her condo building’s Dumpster.
As she dished double chocolate fudge ice cream into one of the cut glass dessert dishes Delores had given her as a Christmas present, Hannah considered what they’d accomplished when they’d met for dinner. Everyone had wanted something to do and Hannah had given out assignments. Andrea would find out anything she could about Mike’s whereabouts during the critical hours. Delores and Carrie would tackle the job of going over the wedding and reception guest books to see if someone on the suspect list had taken too long to get from the wedding to the reception. They’d also make a list of guests who’d attended the wedding only, guests who’d attended the reception only, and those people who’d been invited but hadn’t shown up at either. Norman would talk about Shawna Lee’s murder with his patients and gauge their reactions to her death. He’d ask probing questions and call Hannah immediately if he discovered someone who wasn’t on the suspect list who’d had a motive for wanting Shawna Lee dead. He’d also hold himself available to help Hannah sleuth afterhours.
Hannah hadn’t mentioned it at the dinner, but she had her own agenda. As far as she was concerned, Shawna Lee’s death was a case of too many suspects. Instead of proceeding the way she usually did by making a list of the people with motives, checking their alibis, and eliminating them one by one, she had decided that putting practically every female in Lake Eden on her suspect list would be counterproductive. Hannah planned to concentrate on tracking Shawna Lee’s movements on her last day.
Hannah had a starting point for a timeline. It was hours before the ceremony at St. Peter’s had started, but it would have to do. She would go out to Bouchard’s Bouquets and talk to Kyle. When he’d delivered her roses, he’d told her that he was also delivering roses to Shawna Lee.
Hannah glanced at the magnet that was stuck to her refrigerator door. It read, “Lake Eden Snowmobile Rescue” and they’d come around the first winter after she’d bought her condo. The access road had been impassable and they’d wanted to know if she was out of any staples. Hannah had said yes, she was out of chocolate ice cream. She’d been deadly serious, but they’d thought she was joking and hadn’t brought her the ice cream. Hannah had suffered through two days of sniffing an empty chocolate chip bag before the roads had opened up again and she’d been able to drive out for chocolate ice cream.
“Hold on, Big Guy,” Hannah said, using Norman’s nickname for her feline. “I’ll get you a dish of vanilla and we’ll have our dessert in the living room.”
Hannah grabbed two cookies. They weren’t quite cool, but she figured she might as well give them a three-part test. She’d try them warm, room temperature, and the next morning for breakfast.
Once Moishe’s scoop of vanilla ice cream had been carried to the coffee table in an identical cut glass dessert dish, Hannah settled down to some serious eating and so did her cat. The cookies were good and Hannah was pleased. And the ice cream, a new designer brand that Florence at the Red Owl had recommended, didn’t disappoint. It wasn’t until the last cookie crumb was gone and the spoon scraped the bottom of Hannah’s dish that either one of them spoke.
“I don’t think Mike did it, do you?”
“Yowww,” Moishe commented, extending his long pink tongue to reach the inside of the rim of his dessert glass.
“Is that a yes? I know you’re crazy about Norman, but you like Mike too…don’t you?”