Cinnamon Roll Murder hsm-16

by Joanne Fluke

  Hannah was having a little of all of the above except the omelet. The old adage, Her eyes were bigger than her stomach always came into play when she attended a buffet. She wanted to taste everything, and her plate became loaded with so many different types of food, that it ended up being a crowded palette of foods that failed to retain their individual identity.

  “Vonnie?” Delores spoke to Doc Knight’s secretary. “Tell Hannah what you told me about the night of the accident.”

  “It’s probably nothing, but I thought it was a little unusual,” Vonnie began, putting down her fork. “When Buddy Neiman came up with his paperwork, I checked through it to make sure that nothing was missing. He’d filled out everything, but I noticed that he had the zip code for Minneapolis wrong. I asked him about it and he looked a little embarrassed. He said he should have written five-five-four-oh-three, but he kept forgetting the zip code. I crossed it out when he gave me the correct one.”

  Hannah nodded. So far there wasn’t anything interesting in what Vonnie had told her.

  “Well, I got to thinking about his admission form, so I pulled it today to take another look at it. The incorrect zip code Buddy put on his form wasn’t anywhere near Minneapolis. I looked it up and it was a zip code from Seattle.”

  Seattle again. Hannah gave a little shake of her head. Seattle just kept cropping up in her investigation.

  “That’s not really that unusual,” Doc said, before Hannah could respond. “He was probably in shock due to his injury and the trauma of the accident, and an old zip code popped into his head.”

  Delores gave a little laugh. “I did something similar to that once. I was filling out the insurance forms after your dad died, and I put the phone number I had when I was in high school.”

  “Lori.” Doc reached out to cover her hand with his. “That was shock, too. You’d just lost your husband, and you wanted to go back to happier times.”

  Delores gave him a poignant smile. “You’re right. You always understand.”

  “I’m just trying to get onto your good side. I hate to travel alone and I want you to ride down to the lab with me when I take in those DNA samples.”

  Delores laughed and the poignant moment dissipated. “Why didn’t you just come out and ask me? I’d love to go with you.”

  “I’m going to get another potato pancake,” Vonnie announced, standing up.

  “I’ll go with you,” Andrea said, pushing back her chair. “I want more eggs Benedict. That’s something I never get unless I’m out somewhere for breakfast.”

  They ate in silence for another couple of minutes, and then Hannah pushed back her chair. She’d tasted everything on her plate, and now it was time for dessert. “I’m going to get one of Sally’s fresh crullers.”

  “Wait up, Hannah.” Marlene stood up. “I’ll go with you. I want to get another waffle.”

  Hannah glanced over at Marlene’s plate. There was a half-finished waffle on it, but she didn’t point that out. Perhaps Marlene wanted to tell her something in private that she didn’t want the rest of the group to hear.

  There was a line at the buffet table. The people ahead of them were deep in their own conversation and there was no one behind them. Hannah turned to Marlene. “What is it?” she asked.

  “What is what?”

  “You still had half a waffle on your plate. I figured you just wanted the chance to talk to me alone.”

  “That must be why you’re such a good detective,” Marlene said, smiling at Hannah. “I don’t know if this is important, but something’s bothering me about Ben.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I know he got that plum internship in Los Angeles and everything, and I can’t fault him for leaving. Facial reconstructions is his specialty, you know. But before you got here, Doc said he was glad that Ben would be able to spend some time with his family. And Ben told me he didn’t have any family. We stopped for a pizza after work one night, and we got a pitcher of beer to go with our pizza. I don’t like beer very much, so Ben drank most of it. And that was when he told me that his parents died a couple of years ago, and now that his older brother was dead, he didn’t have any family.”

  “But Doc said Ben told him he’d get a chance to see his family while he was in California?”

  “I know. Maybe Ben was talking about an uncle, or cousins, or something like that. Or maybe he felt he had to give Doc an excuse for leaving so suddenly. There’s also the possibility that Doc got it wrong. It might have been Ben’s friends he was talking about, not his family. It just struck me as inconsistent, that’s all. And things that are inconsistent bother me.”

  “Did you mention this to Ben?”

  “No, and I won’t. He probably doesn’t even remember he told me that he didn’t have any family. He was pretty buzzed that night. And maybe he just fed me a line to get my sympathy and make me feel closer to him. If that was his intention, it worked.”

  “Oh,” Hannah said, catching the implication and settling for a comment that was perfectly noncommittal.

  “It was just one of those things that seemed right at the time. And then later, I found myself wishing it had never happened. Do you know what I mean?”

  “Yes, I do.”

  “I don’t know why I felt I should tell you all this. It probably doesn’t mean anything at all. But your mother said we should tell you anything out of the ordinary that we noticed at the hospital, and this seemed to fit into that category.”

  “What’s next?” Michelle asked, as they got out of the tram next to Hannah’s cookie truck and Andrea’s Volvo.

  “Doctor Bev,” Hannah said, taking her keys out of her saddlebag purse.

  Andrea and Michelle turned to look at Hannah in shock. “Did you just say what I thought you said?” Andrea asked.

  “Yes. I have to question Doctor Bev and I know she’ll be at Claire’s dress shop at three o’clock. Norman said she was driving back from the Cities for a wedding dress fitting.”

  Andrea put her hands over her eyes and gave a little moan. “So you’re going to question Doctor Bev in her wedding dress?”

  “Yes, as long as Claire agrees.” Hannah opened the door to her cookie truck and climbed up into the driver’s seat. “You’re going with me, aren’t you, Michelle?”

  “I think I’d better be there. Claire might need help to break up the fight.”

  “What fight?”

  “The fight you’re bound to have if you see Doctor Bev in her wedding dress.”

  “There won’t be any fight. We’re just going to have a nice, civilized question and answer session,” Hannah gave a little smile that belied her words. “Or perhaps I should say I’m planning to grill her within an inch of her life! Would you like to come along, Andrea?”

  “No way!” Andrea said emphatically. And then she gave a little sigh. “I’m going to make a quick stop at the mall, and then I’m going home to wait for you to call me. I’ll be a wreck for the rest of the day if I’m not the first to know what happened!”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  “So what are we going to do?” Michelle asked as they parked in the back of The Cookie Jar.

  “I’m not sure, but we’ve got ...” Hannah glanced at her watch. “... eight minutes to figure it out. The first thing we have to do is tell Claire what’s happening.”

  “You’re right. And after we do that, I think you should take three or four outfits into a dressing room and try them on.”

  “But I don’t need a new outfit.”

  “I know that, but if you were Doctor Bev and you saw Hannah Swensen and her sister Michelle waiting for you in Claire’s dress shop, would you go in?”

  “Probably not. I’d wait until they left.”

  “Exactly! So the two of us will be in a dressing room when Doctor Bev walks in.”

  “And she won’t know we’re there,” Hannah picked up the idea and ran with it. “We’ll wait until she tries on her dress and then I’ll come out.”

  “Not me
?”

  “No, you stay in the dressing room and take notes for me. I’ll give you my murder book. We need a record of exactly what she says.”

  “I can do that. Anything else?”

  “Yes. I’m going to ask Claire to keep her with her back to our dressing room. That way you can peek out and let me know when she’s dressed. Then I’ll step out and confront her.”

  “Confront?”

  “Sorry. I meant greet. I’ll step out and greet her. And then I’ll start questioning her about Seattle and Buddy Neiman. I might even show her the copy of the photo Norman printed for me. Sally’s positive it’s her.”

  “Do you think she’ll admit that she was there at Club Nineteen that night?”

  “Probably not. She’ll try to tell me it’s not her, and she’s never been to Club Nineteen in her life. I’m looking forward to that part of it.” Hannah gave another hard-edged smile. “She’s going to get really nervous before I’m through with her.”

  “All you have to do is smile at her like that. and she’s going to get nervous. I’m getting nervous and I haven’t even done anything wrong!”

  “It’s called intimidation. Mike taught me that smile.”

  “Well it’s a good one. Let’s go, Hannah.” Michelle got out of the cookie truck. “We’ve only got a couple of minutes to talk to Claire and tell her what we’re doing. Let’s get in there in case Doctor Bev is early.”

  Of course Doctor Bev wasn’t early. She was five minutes late. And that gave Michelle and Hannah plenty of time to explain to Claire exactly what they were doing.

  “Here,” Claire said, thrusting four outfits into Hannah’s arms. “Keep the door to the dressing room closed. It’ll be easier if I cue you. Get into one of these now and stay put until I ask you how you like the selections I’ve made for you. And then come out.”

  Hannah sat down on the bench in the dressing room while Michelle took up a cross-legged position on the floor. “You’d better get one of those outfits on,” Michelle said.

  “I guess,” Hannah said, hanging her parka on a hook, divesting herself of the clothes she’d worn to the brunch, and slipping one of the outfits Claire had chosen for her over her head.

  “Nice color,” Michelle commented, eyeing the rich turquoise. “I like the fact it’s a pantsuit and you can wear it with dress flats.”

  “I don’t have any dress flats.”

  “We’ll get some.” Michelle got up to zip the tunic top of Hannah’s outfit. “It looks good on you, Hannah.

  “Of course it does. Claire chose it for me. If I ever get rich, I’m going to hire Claire to be my personal fashion consultant.”

  “I wonder if Doc will like the cookies I made,” Michelle said. “I wanted give him samples right away, but it seemed wrong to take them in to brunch.”

  “We’ll take some out to the hospital in the morning. Mother said they’d be there early, and they can have a couple for breakfast.”

  “Just like we did this morning, before we found out we were going to brunch.”

  “Right.”

  Claire gave a little knock on the dressing room door. “Here she comes. She’s just getting out of her car. I can hardly wait to see her face when she realizes that you’re here. This is going to be fun!”

  “Do you get the feeling that Claire doesn’t like her either?” Michelle asked when Claire had left.

  “I know for a fact that Claire doesn’t like her. She told me that she thought Doctor Bev was a phony from the word go. She said it was probably uncharitable, and unchristian, and all the other bad un-things, but she never liked Doctor Bev and she never would. And then she said she had half a notion to put a stop to the wedding.”

  “How?”

  “She said that when Reverend Bob gets to the part, If any person can show just cause why they may not be joined together, let them speak now or forever hold their peace, she wants to stand up and tell Norman he shouldn’t marry Doctor Bev.”

  “Claire wouldn’t actually do that, would she?”

  “I don’t know. Probably not, but it’s good to know that she feels the same way we do.”

  The two sisters fell silent as they heard voices. Claire was greeting Doctor Bev, and Doctor Bev was being her sweet, nice, fake self. At least that’s the way Hannah thought of her now. Sweet by day, strumpet by night, Hannah thought, and unless I’m completely mistaken, Norman isn’t even the strumpee! She could hardly wait to see what Doctor Bev had to say for herself.

  “Are you excited about the wedding?” Claire asked, and Hannah tried not to grit her teeth.

  “Oh, yes! It’ll be wonderful to have all our friends there. I do hope my mother can make it, but Diana’s been down with the flu. It’s the reason I drove to Minneapolis for the weekend. The poor baby was still running a fever when I left this morning.”

  And just how would you know that since you didn’t even bother to see her? Hannah thought exchanging glances with Michelle. Doctor Bev was an accomplished liar. Perhaps it was because she got so much practice lying to everyone in Lake Eden.

  “I’m sorry your daughter’s sick,” Claire said, and Hannah heard a garment bag unzip. “Just let me put this dress over your head and we’ll check to make sure the alterations are done correctly.”

  “Oh, I’m sure they are if you did them, Claire,” Doctor Bev said sweetly. “I just hope Norman likes this dress. I know it’s bad luck for the groom to see the bridal dress before the wedding, but I’d feel more confident if he had come here with me when I chose it.”

  “It’s a beautiful color,” Claire said. “Ice blue looks lovely on you.”

  “Thank you. Blue is my favorite color.”

  Wrong, Hannah thought frowning deeply. Beige is your favorite color. That’s what you wrote on the Rhodes Dental Clinic website. If you’re going to lie about everything, you’d better keep your lies straight!

  There was the sound of another zipper. Claire must be zipping up the back of Doctor Bev’s dress. Hannah stood up, raring to go. The liar was in the box, and it was time for the turquoise-clad detective to interrogate her.

  “Just step out and we’ll take a peek in the mirror,” Claire said, and Hannah knew she was about to position Doctor Bev in front of the three-way mirror in the back of the Beau Monde Dress Shop.

  “Showtime!” Hannah mouthed.

  “Almost,” Michelle mouthed back as she flipped to a blank page in Hannah’s steno pad and picked up the pen.

  “Are you ready in there, dear?” Claire called out. “I hope you like the selections I made for you.”

  “They’re great,” Hannah said, marching out the door and straight for the ice blue vision in the mirror. “Well hello, Doctor Bev. Fancy meeting you here.”

  If ever a woman looked as if she’d just swallowed a cow, it was Doctor Bev. She gaped at Hannah as if she couldn’t believe her own eyes. “What are you doing here?” she asked in a tone that was decidedly unsweet.

  “Why I’m looking for an outfit to wear to your wedding. That is, if your wedding is still on.”

  “Of course it’s on! What do you mean?”

  Once you get them rattled, you’ve got to keep them rattled, Hannah’s mind repeated the advice Mike had once given her about conducting interrogations. “I thought you might be too busy to get married, since your daughter’s so sick. Or perhaps she’s not sick at all. Perhaps you’re too busy because you’re spending time at Club Nineteen.”

  “What are you talking about? You’re crazy, Hannah. I don’t know any place called Club Nineteen. I’ve never heard of it.”

  “Just like you’ve never heard of the tight red sweater and high-heeled boots you wore when you went there on the second Saturday in February?” Hannah whipped the photo out of her folder and handed it to Doctor Bev. “There you are with Buddy Neiman, but that’s not his real name. Of course you knew that, didn’t you? And you knew he was from Seattle because both of you were there at the same time!”

  Doctor Bev glanced down at the photo a
nd her face turned a bit paler. She swallowed hard, and then she raised her eyes to Hannah again. “This isn’t me. This isn’t anybody I know. And it’s ridiculous to think I knew Buddy Neiman or whatever his name was.”

  “Is it? When I passed by with Buddy at the hospital, you were pretty quick to step behind Norman so that Buddy didn’t see you.”

  “You’re imagining things.”

  “I thought I was for a while. But now I know there’s a connection. Can you look me straight in the eye and swear you didn’t know Buddy in Seattle?”

  “Certainly!” Doctor Bev faced Hannah squarely. “I didn’t know Buddy in Seattle. I might have passed him on the street, but even that’s doubtful. There are over six hundred thousand people in Seattle. Any intelligent person should realize that I couldn’t possibly have known all of them.”

  “But I’m not concerned with all of them. I’m only concerned with one of them. What was his name back then? You knew it.”

  “This conversation is absurd. I’m leaving!”

  “Not in that dress, you’re not!” Hannah warned her. Then she turned to Claire. “Has she paid for it?”

  “Not yet.”

  Doctor Bev shot Hannah a scathing look, and then she turned back to Claire. “Just put it on my bill, please.”

  Hannah noticed that Doctor Bev’s hands were shaking slightly. This was the time to really put her on the defensive. Once a subject begins to crack, all you have to do is widen the crack, Mike’s words echoed in her mind. “Just tell me Buddy’s real name and you can go.”

  “How should I know?”

  “You know because you said you did,” Hannah stated, “on the second Saturday in February when you argued with him in the parking lot at Club Nineteen. You said, I’d know you anywhere.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “Someone overheard you. And after you said, I’d know you anywhere, Buddy said, You got the wrong guy, lady. Leave me alone! I’m not the guy you think I am! And you shouted, Yes you are! I know you are! And then you slapped him and walked away.”