Banana Cream Pie Murder

by Joanne Fluke

  “What’s next?” Mike asked Hannah.

  “Rod’s going to take some photos of the cast to put in tomorrow’s paper,” Hannah explained. “He thought it would be a good advertisement for the play.”

  “He’s right. Lots of people read the paper, and not just people from Lake Eden. There are a couple of other towns around here that don’t have papers of their own and they read the Lake Eden Journal to find out what’s happening locally.”

  Rod beckoned to someone on the stage and Tricia and Vivian came forward. They stood in the center of the set and, at Michelle’s direction, Vivian put her arm around Tricia’s shoulders.

  “Who’s that?” Mike asked.

  “Tricia Barthel.”

  “Not her. The older woman.”

  “Her first name’s Vivian. Michelle says she lives way out in the country somewhere and one of the Players told Michelle she’d heard that Vivian’s husband was very sick.”

  “Has she been in many plays?”

  “Michelle said that Vivian had been in a couple of plays before. I’ve only seen her twice and she’s not very outgoing, so that’s really all I know about her.”

  “She was really good in the play. I was surprised.”

  “Why? The Lake Eden Players usually put on a good show.”

  “Yeah, but their plays are almost always pretty amateurish. They can act, but you can tell they don’t do it for a living. This Vivian’s better than that. She had me believing that she was Tricia’s mother. Has she been with the Lake Eden Players for long?”

  “Not too long. A year or so, I think.”

  “After Tori took over as director?”

  Hannah shrugged. “I don’t know. You can ask Michelle if there’s any record of when people joined. She may know, because she’s using Tori’s office. If there’s some kind of a roster, it’s probably there.”

  The curtains opened again to show the entire cast assembled at one side of the stage. Michelle was standing at a podium in the center and Mike turned to Hannah. “They’re going to run through the play again?”

  “No. They’re rehearsing the curtain call. Mayor Bascomb and Stephanie are going to do Michelle’s part on opening night.”

  “Then I guess I’d better head out. I’ve got a couple calls to make. Unless . . . is Michelle using your cookie truck tonight?”

  “No, Tricia’s got her car and she’ll bring Michelle back to the condo. They’re going out to the mall first to do a little shopping and see a movie.”

  “Okay. Then you don’t need a ride home?”

  “No, but thanks for offering, Mike.”

  Mike stood up and saw that Rod was packing up his photographic equipment. “Good. Rod’s done. I need to talk to him about something anyway.”

  Hannah knew that if she’d had ears like Moishe, they would have swiveled in Mike’s direction. “Is it about your investigation?”

  “No. I’d like Rod to run a few pictures of the deputies out at our station interacting with the community. Cops are getting a bad name in some of the press right now, and I’d like him to counteract that by publishing positive things about the Winnetka County Sheriff’s Department personnel.”

  “Good idea. I’m sure he’ll do it. Rod’s a good newspaperman. He’s probably got some ideas for you.”

  Hannah settled back to watch as Mike went off to intercept Rod. She half-listened as Michelle gave instructions to the actors.

  “The mayor will give a short tribute to his sister before he begins the curtain call. I don’t have his script for that yet, but I’ll read it to you when I do. When the mayor finishes, I want you, Tricia, to come up to the podium and tell him, and the audience, that the night’s performance was dedicated to his sister, Victoria Bascomb, your esteemed director.”

  Tricia nodded. “Will you write a script for me? Or shall I say it in my own words?”

  “I think your own words would be better. And then, when you’ve gone back to your place in line, the mayor and Stephanie will begin to call people forward for the curtain call. That’s what I want to practice right now. When I say your character’s name, and then your real name, I want you to step out of line, take up a position on the far left of the stage, and form a line with the podium at the center. I’ll divide you into two lines and arrange you in order now.”

  Hannah watched as Michelle divided the cast into two equal lines and positioned them, in order of importance, on both sides of the podium.

  “These will be your positions for the curtain call. Remember them and take the same positions when we go through the cast roster. Is everyone ready?”

  There were nods from everyone and Michelle continued. “Here we go then. When I call your character’s name, followed by your real name, come forward, take your position, and bow or wave to the audience. Let’s try it now.”

  A couple of the Players looked a bit nervous, but they nodded agreement.

  “The part of Hugh Blackwell was performed by Barry Withers.”

  Hannah was surprised at Barry’s appearance as he crossed the stage and took up a position on one side of the podium. She hadn’t seen him since his senior year at Jordan High when she’d watched him win a speed skating competition. The gangly boy had turned into a handsome man and she hadn’t even recognized him!

  “The part of Lorena Blackwell was performed by Tricia Barthel.”

  Tricia walked forward and positioned herself on the opposite side of the podium. It was obvious that Barry and Tricia were the two principals and their supporting players would come next.

  “The part of Mary Dumont was performed by Vivian Dickerson.”

  Hannah gave an audible gasp as Vivian crossed the stage and assumed a position next to Barry. Her mind was spinning so fast, she felt dizzy and light-headed. Mary Dumont. Vivian played Mary Dumont. Could she be the M. Dumont that Tori had written as the last entry in her appointment book on the night that she was murdered?

  The rush of adrenaline that Hannah experienced at the sound of Vivian’s character name was so intense, her legs began to shake. Her heart rate accelerated and her breath came in shallow gasps. Was she sitting here trembling, on a theater seat in the Jordan High auditorium, staring at Tori Bascomb’s killer?

  Don’t jump to conclusions, Hannah’s mind cautioned. Even if Vivian did have an appointment with Tori that night, it doesn’t mean that she kept that appointment. And even if she did, it doesn’t mean that she murdered Tori.

  Hannah readily admitted her mind was right. Tori could have canceled Vivian’s appointment. According to Doc’s autopsy report, the window of Tori’s death stretched from seven to ten, but Hannah knew that it was shorter than that. Delores had heard the shots at a few minutes past eight. And Tori could have cut Vivian’s appointment short the way she’d done with Tricia.

  Those were all possibilities that would clear Vivian of any wrongdoing. There were all sorts of questions Hannah needed to ask and the only person who could answer them was Vivian.

  There was only one truly valid conclusion Hannah could draw from the new information she’d gleamed. And that conclusion was that she had to talk to Vivian now . . . tonight! Perhaps nothing would come of it, but she needed to know if Vivian had met with Tori on the night that Tori was murdered.

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Hannah stood outside the dressing room door, waiting for Vivian to come out. Just as Michelle had mentioned, Vivian had waited until everyone else had left the temporary dressing rooms set up against the back wall of the auditorium to remove her costume and makeup.

  The ring of keys were heavy in Hannah’s pocket. Michelle had given them to her when Hannah’d promised to lock up after everyone left. Of course, she hadn’t told Michelle exactly why she’d volunteered to stay. Her conversation with Vivian Dickerson would probably amount to nothing useful, but it was certainly worth doing.

  Hannah had decided that her talk with Vivian had to be private. Vivian might not be as forthcoming if she asked her questions in front of anyone
else. She would wait until Vivian came out, and talk to her then.

  * * *

  “So you’ll do it, Rod?” Mike asked the older man.

  “Of course I will. The Lake Eden Journal has always supported law enforcement. You know that, Mike. Let’s get a really good setup for the first article. How about if one of the deputies talks to some kid on the street and helps him fix his bicycle?”

  “That’s good. I think we should use Lonnie for that. We should have a younger deputy who’s a Lake Eden native. For the next one, how about Bill having coffee at The Cookie Jar with a whole table of ladies?”

  “You mean ladies from the Lake Eden Gossip Hotline?”

  Mike laughed. “That’s right. You can get Delores to arrange it. She’s really good at things like that.”

  As they watched through Rod’s windshield, Barry Withers came out and walked across the parking lot to his car.

  “Who’s left inside?” Rod asked.

  “Hannah and . . . I’m not sure,” Mike answered. “The other car’s a fairly new Buick. Hold on a second and I’ll run the plate. Can you see the numbers from here?”

  “Yeah.” Rod grabbed a small pair of binoculars from his glove box and read off the letters and the number.

  Mike punched in the information on his cell phone and listened for a moment. “This could take awhile. Why do you carry those binoculars anyway?”

  “Just in case something newsworthy is happening and I don’t want to get too close.”

  “That makes sense. You don’t want to get too close, but you want to get photos for the paper. I noticed you had a long-range lens on that camera of yours.”

  * * *

  “Oh, good!” Hannah said when Vivian Dickerson walked out of the dressing room. “I was waiting for you.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I have the keys and I promised my sister that I’d lock up after everyone had left.”

  “I’m leaving right now.”

  “Wait a second. I’d really like to ask you something.”

  Vivian turned around and faced Hanna directly. “What did you want to ask me?”

  “You’re a very good actress. I told you that at the bake sale. And that made me curious about your background.”

  Vivian’s eyes narrowed. “What about it?”

  “I was just wondering if you had any professional acting experience.”

  “I never discuss my background,” Vivian said, turning to go.

  “No, wait!” Hannah reached out to grab her arm. “I didn’t mean to pry. I just thought you were so good, that you must have acted somewhere else before. That’s all.”

  “Thank you for the compliment, but that’s none of your concern. I live here now and I’m with the Lake Eden Players. That’s all your sister and you need to know.”

  “Of course it is.” Hannah gave her a smile. “But there’s one more thing.”

  “Yes?”

  “Do you know that Tori Bascomb gave acting lessons in her home studio?”

  “Yes, I heard that.”

  “Did you ever take an acting lesson from her?”

  Vivian’s eyes flashed with anger. “Of course not! Why would I?”

  “No reason. I was just curious because she had you listed by your character name in the appointment book she used for her acting lessons. The appointment was for seven forty-five on the night she was murdered.”

  Vivian turned to face Hannah fully. “It wasn’t an acting lesson. It was a personal matter.”

  “Then you knew Tori in some capacity other than as the director of the Lake Eden Players?”

  “You could say that.” Vivian moved a step closer and Hannah found herself backing up.

  Warning bells went off in her head and she knew this wasn’t good. “I’ll bet you were in a play together, or something like that?” Hannah said, trying to cover her earlier question with some explanation that Vivian would find innocuous.

  “You know better than that.” Vivian’s voice was hard as ice chipped from a solid block. “You figured it out, didn’t you?”

  You’re alone with her. You’d better backtrack as fast as you can, Hannah’s mind told her. And Hannah listened to that wise advice. “I figured what out? That you’re a really great actress? Of course I did. And so should everyone who sees you on the stage.”

  “Thank you,” Vivian said, but her eyes were still hard with a gleam of suspicion. “Have you ever seen me on the stage?”

  “No, I don’t get to attend many plays. I’ve seen a few things the Lake Eden Players have done, but that’s it.”

  “Then perhaps you’ve seen me on the big screen.”

  “The movies?” Hannah pretended to be surprised and impressed. “I had no idea! I knew you were as good as a professional actress, but I don’t think I’ve seen any of your movies.”

  “Really,” Vivian said, and the expression on her face turned even colder.

  She doesn’t believe you, Hannah’s mind told her. You’d better think of some excuse to get away fast!

  Hannah knew that she had to escape and there was no time to waste. It was possible, even probable, that the same gun that Vivian had used to kill Tori was, even now, in the bottom of Vivian’s tote bag, loaded and ready to kill Hannah!

  The back door to the auditorium was directly behind her . . . Hannah knew that it was still unlocked, because when Michelle had given Hannah the keys, she’d reminded Hannah to make sure and lock up before she left! Hannah backed up another step closer to the unlocked door, trying to be as unobtrusive as possible. Even though her heart was pounding wildly and her knees were beginning to shake, she managed to keep the friendly smile on her face. It was time to get out while Vivian was still unsure what Hannah knew and what she didn’t know.

  Hannah glanced down at her watch. “Look at the time! I called my husband to tell him I had to stay at the school to lock up, but if I don’t leave right now, he’s bound to come looking for me.”

  “Of course he will. And he’ll be the one to find you.” Vivian’s tone was flat and full of menace. “You know about me, don’t you, Hannah?”

  * * *

  Mike turned to look up at Rod with surprise. “The plates came back as registered to a Vivian Dickerson.”

  “That’s the woman who played Tricia Bathel’s mother,” Rod told him.

  “So both of them are still in there.”

  “Yeah,” Rod said. “And Hannah’s probably still in there talking to Vivian.”

  “Why? Everybody else has left.”

  Rod shrugged. “I don’t know. Why do women spend all that time talking to each other? Men will never understand that.”

  Mike nodded to acknowledge the comment, but his face took on a worried look. “It’s odd.”

  “What’s odd about it? Vivian’s probably nattering away and Hannah has to stay to lock up.”

  Mike thought about that for a moment. “What do you know about Vivian, Rod?”

  “Not much. She moved here a year or two ago and she lives way out in the country. She doesn’t belong to any clubs that I know of and . . . I really don’t know anything else about her.”

  “Was she a friend of Tori’s?”

  “Not that I know of.”

  Mike took a moment to digest that kernel of information and then he turned to look at Rod. “Does Vivian remind you of anyone you know? Or anyone you’ve seen before?”

  Rod looked surprised at the question, but he thought about it for at least a minute. “In a way, she does. There was a movie I saw. Oh, it’s got to be thirty years ago, but it had this woman playing a nanny. She was better than the actress that played the mother and that’s probably why I remember her. If you took thirty years off Vivian’s face, she’d look a lot like that actress.”

  “What was the name of the movie?”

  “I don’t know. It was something Gerda wanted to watch.”

  “Try to think of it, Rod. It’s important.”

  Rod was silent for a moment. “It was some
thing that was set in a foreign country, Mike . . . I think it was set in Paris, but I can’t quite remember the name of the movie. . . .”

  “Keep thinking. Maybe it’ll come to you.”

  Rod thought for another minute. “Oh!”

  “You thought of it?”

  “Not exactly, but I think it was called Interlude or Intermission or . . . Intermezzo! That was it! Intermezzo in Paris!”

  Mike grabbed his phone and typed in the name of the movie. It seemed to take forever to get an answer, but when he did, the search gave him a roster of the actors and actresses in the movie. Mike scanned it quickly and winced as he came to a familiar name. “Uh-oh!”

  “What’s wrong?” Rod asked him.

  “I’ll explain later. Stay here, Rod. And if I’m not back here in five minutes with Hannah, call Rick over at the station and tell him to get his . . . his squad car over here right away!”

  “Is Hannah in danger?” Rod asked.

  “I don’t know yet. But I’m going in to find out!”

  * * *

  Just as they’d said in the old black and white gangster movie she’d watched with Norman a year or so ago, the jig was up. And Hannah knew it. All she could do was try to keep Vivian talking, stalling her as long as she could, in the hope that that someone would see her car was still in the parking lot, and come in to find out what was taking her so long inside.

  “So why did you kill Tori?” Hannah asked. “She didn’t criticize your acting, did she?”

  “Heavens no! She wouldn’t dare! I’m better than she ever was, and I always have been.”

  “I’ve never seen Tori in anything, but I don’t see how anyone could be a better actress than you are.”

  “Thank you, Hannah, but compliments won’t save you now, you know. I’ll have to kill you. I don’t have any other choice.”

  “You could always lock me in somewhere until you got away.”

  Vivian shook her head. “Too sloppy. You’re the only one who figured it out and I don’t want you to tell anyone else. I’ll leave Minnesota. You can bet on that. But I won’t have to run as far or as fast.”