by Joanne Fluke
'Okay.' Hannah nodded. 'But that all happened a hundred years ago. Why is KCOW saying that Ezekiel's ghost is here now?'
Sally started to grin. 'Francine mentioned it to one of the reporters that's staying out here for the Winter Carnival. He must have called the radio station and told them about it.'
'But why did Francine tell the reporter about it?'
Sally poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down next to Hannah and Andrea. 'Do you want the long story on that? Or the short story?'
'The short story,' Hannah said, even though she suspected it would be the same length as the long story.
'Yesterday morning Francine met the reporter in the hall. He said he woke up in the middle of the night, looked out his window, and saw somebody walking around outside. Francine told him he must have seen Ezekiel Jordan's ghost coming back for his desk. Francine was just kidding around with him, but he must have taken her seriously. And now everybody's going to think our inn has a ghost. In a way, I'm glad Dick's gone. He'd be worried about how it would affect our business.'
'Dick's away?' Hannah was surprised. Sally hadn't said anything about it when Hannah had called her last week.
'He had to leave for Arizona on Sunday. His mother was going to wait until summer to have her hip fixed, but the doctors wanted to do it now. I told Dick that I could handle everything, but I didn't count on the ghost story. I just hope all our guests don't check out.'
'They won't,' Andrea said and she sounded very confident. 'People who don't believe in ghosts will ignore it. And the believers will stay right here, hoping for a sighting. It's a win-win situation, Sally. Ghosts sell.'
'They do?'
Andrea nodded. 'Remember the old Walker place? It was on the market for a solid year with no offers. Then someone started a story about how it was haunted by Beulah Walker's ghost and it sold for over asking price.'
Hannah turned to give her sister a searching look. 'You didn't!'
'No. But I might have, if I'd thought of it.'
Sally got the coffee pot and poured them all a second cup. I'll be right back. I just need to sell them to start setting out the buffet.'
Hannah watched as Sally walked over to an attractive dark-haired woman in her late forties. They spoke for a moment and then the woman began to direct the rest of Sally's kitchen staff as they loaded dishes on rolling carts and prepared to wheel out the buffet.
As the feast on wheels started to move past them, Hannah saw Andrea reach out to snatch a glazed doughnut. 'You had three of Sally's popovers and you're still hungry?'
'I'm starving. I just can't resist Sally's doughnuts.'
'And I can't resist her bacon,' Hannah commented, snagging several pieces as a second cart rolled by.
For several minutes the sisters chewed in silence, attempting to finish their pilfered bounty before Sally returned. Andrea had just swallowed the last of her doughnut when Sally headed back in their direction.
'Okay, that's done,' Sally declared, sitting down on her stool and turning to Hannah. 'Now tell me what dragged you out all the way out here when you must have tons of baking to do.'
Hannah hesitated. Everyone told her that she was too outspoken, but she couldn't think of any tactful way to tell Sally what had happened to Connie Mac. 'I'm glad you're sitting down, Sally, because your most important guest just got murdered.'
-9-
Sally's coffee was cold by the time Hannah had finished telling her about finding Connie Mac. She took one sip, made a face, and set the cup back down again. 'I'm sorry she's dead, but there's one good thing. When the news breaks, it'll knock our ghost story off the front page.'
'Maybe not,' Andrea mused. 'It all depends on how much mileage that reporter wants to get out of it. He could always say that Ezekiel's ghost took his revenge by killing Connie Mac.'
Sally looked puzzled. 'But Connie Mac wasn't in that p9oker game. It happened a hundred years ago.'
'I know she wasn't there personally, but while we were touring Mother's re-creation, Connie Mac mentioned that her family was one of the first to settle in Minnesota. With that kind of background, she could have been a shirttail relation to someone who was in F. E.'s poker game.'
'Andrea's right,' Hannah said. 'If you go back far enough, a lot of Minnesotans are related.'
Sally gave a resigned sigh. 'I hate to admit it, but you girls have a point. I guess our ghost story is going to be around for a while, at least until the real killer is caught. You're working on the case, aren't you?'
'Yes, but that's confidential,' Andrea told her. 'After Mike locked Hannah out of The Cookie Jar, he made her promise not to interfere.'
'You're locked out of The Cookie Jar?' Sally turned to Hannah.
'It's a crime scene and they roped it off. I know it's a lot to ask, but I've got all the Winter Carnival cookies to bake and . . . '
'Save your breath,' Sally interrupted her. 'You can bake here.'
'Are you sure you don't mind?'
Sally shook her head. 'That's what friends are for. Besides, it gives me the inside track on your investigation. You'll be out here and I can hear everything firsthand.'
'Thanks, Sally.' Hannah felt a giant weight slip off her shoulders. Her immediate problem was solved, but there was an even bigger one to tackle. 'Do you have a minute to tell me about the people who worked for Connie Mac? We need to find out if any of them had a reason to kill her.'
'If you ask me, they all had reasons. Connie Mac was a terror to work for.'
Andrea's eyes widened and she stared at Sally. 'Are you sure? She seemed so nice.'
'That was just her public image. She was a lot different when somebody crossed her.'
Hannah set down her coffee cup and pulled out her notebook. 'Then everyone who worked for Connie Mac is a possible suspect?'
'That's about the size of it. And don't forget my staff. Connie Mac was only here for a couple of hours, but, she managed to send four of my maids downstairs in tears.'
'I just can't believe it!' Andrea still looked shocked. 'She was really that bad?'
'She was worse. To tell the truth, I'm surprised someone didn't kill her long before this.'
Hannah glanced at her sister. Andrea was wearing an expression that reminded her of the first fish she'd ever caught. 'I think we should try to narrow the field,' Hannah said, turning her attention back to Sally. 'Is there anyone who had a particular grudge against Connie Mac?'
'There's the man who drove her supply van in the ditch. Earl Flensburg pulled him out and he let the guy use the phone in his tow truck. Connie Mac wouldn't even let him tell her what happened. She just fired him right over the phone.'
Hannah jotted a note to check with Earl. 'Anyone else?'
'There's Alan Carpenter. He's Connie Mac's lawyer and she threatened to fire him yesterday afternoon.'
'How do you know that?'
'I was there. I was filling in for my bartender and Alan was sitting at the far end of the bar. When Connie Mac came in, right after your tour, she really lit into him.'
'What did she say?' Hannah asked, her pen poised to take notes.
'Let me think.' Sally paused for a moment. 'I was heading over to take her order, and I heard her say, 'Half? But he can't do that!' And Alan said, 'He's already done it. It's signed and witnessed.' '
'Who's this he?' Hannah asked, silently apologizing to Miss Parry and her sixth-grade grammar class.
'I don't know, and I sure didn't ask. Connie Mac looked so mad, I backtracked to polish some glasses.'
'But you could hear what they said?'
'Of course. I was only a few feet away and I could see them in the mirror behind the bar. Connie Mac glared daggers at Alan, and that's when she threatened him. She said, 'Get him to change it, or you're fired. Don't forget that you're my lawyer and I can have you disbarred for not protecting my interests.' '
Hannah added Alan Carpenter's name to her list of suspects, then glanced over at Andrea. Her sister still looked like a hooked fish. '
Are you all right, Andrea/'
'I'm okay.' Andrea straightened up and took a deep breath. 'I just don't understand how I could be so gullible. I can usually read people better than that.'
Sally reached over to pat Andrea's shoulder. 'Connie Mac pulled the wool over everyone's eyes. She had me fooled too, at first.'
'That's what TV stars get paid to do,' Hannah commented, and then she turned back to Sally. 'Where is Alan Carpenter now?'
'He left with Connie Mac's husband right before you got here. I didn't know it at the time, but they must have been going to officially identify the body.'
'You're probably right.' Hannah shifted hears. She didn't want to think about how a husband must feel having to identify his wife's dead body 'What's your impression of Connie Mac's husband?'
'I like Paul. He's everything that Connie Mac just pretended to be.' Sally hesitated, and faint worry lines appeared on her forehead. 'Is he a suspect?'
'Not if he has an alibi,' Hannah told her. 'Was he here all night?'
'I don't know. Paul didn't come in while I was bartending, but he could have been up in their suite. One of my maids might know.'
'I'll talk to them later,' Hannah said, and jotted another note. 'How about Spencer, her chauffeur?'
'He told me he was on call. Connie Mac was supposed to call him when she finished baking, and he had to go pick her up. He was in the bar until I closed at one.'
Andrea looked shocked. 'Spencer was drinking?'
'Only coffee. I think he went through about a gallon while was waiting. When I closed the bar, he went out to the lobby. My night man said he sat there in a chair by the fireplace all night.'
Hannah nodded and crossed Spencer off her list of suspects. If he'd been a the inn all night, he couldn't have killed Connie Mac. 'Did you meet everyone on Connie Mac's staff?'
'Yes. When they checked in on Monday, Paul introduced them to me. Most of them spent a lot of time at the mall, arranging for the grand opening of the boutique, but they all came back here for dinner. They seemed like a nice bunch of people, Hannah. Connie Mac was the only exception.'
'How about Paul and Connie Mac? Do you think it was a good marriage?'
'It wouldn't surprise me if it wasn't. He was nice and she was nasty. They must have mixed like oil and water.'
'Was Paul here when Connie Mac checked in?'
'Yes, but they didn't see each other, if that's what you're asking. I worked the front desk from noon to two and Paul called down to leave a message for her. Connie Mac was supposed to come straight up to their suite when she arrived, because Paul needed to talk to her about something important.'
'And you gave her the message?'
'Of course. She stood there and read it right in front of me. Then she slipped it in her purse and went straight back out to her limo.'
'She didn't even bother to call him?' Andrea began to frown when Sally shook her head. 'But she saw him when she got back from the tour, didn't she?'
'I don't know. My bartender called in sick and I had to work the bar for the rest of the day. Connie Mac came in at four to meet Alan, and she was hopping mad before she walked through the door.'
'How could you tell she was mad before you saw her?' Hannah was confused.
'I heard her coming down the hall, and those boots she was wearing couldn't have hit the floor any harder.'
'Boots?' Andrea gave Sally sharp look. 'Are you sure they were boots?'
'I'm positive. I noticed because they were so unusual. I've never seen boots in peach-colored suede before. I bet she had them dyed to match the flowers on her sweater.'
'Connie Mac was wearing a sweater?' Andrea sounded surprised.
'That's right. It was part of a three-piece outfit. Her slacks and top were chocolate brown, the same color as the background in the sweater.'
'Was she carrying a purse?'
'Yes, a peach-colored suede shoulder bag with a strap made of gold links. She threw it on the top of the bar so hard, I thought the strap was going to wipe out a bowl of salted nuts.'
Hannah frowned at her sister. Leave it to Andrea to sidetrack a murder investigation by getting into a discussion of fashion with Sally. 'That's enough, Andrea. We don't need a blow-by-blow description Connie Mac's wardrobe.'
'Yes, we do,' Andrea countered, giving Hannah a triumphant look. 'If you'd paid attention, you'd know that Connie Mac was wearing a peach designer suit with black leather shoes when we went on the tour. And her purse was a black leather clutch with a diamond clasp. She must have gone up to her suite to change clothes, and that means she probably saw her husband. Don't think that's important?'
'It's important, and I'm glad you noticed.' Hannah felt a little guilty for jumping on her sister. Andrea always noticed what other women were wearing. Usually it bored Hannah to death, but this time it had come in handy. 'I think it would help if we tried to reconstruct Connie Mac's afternoon. What time did you finish the tour, Andrea?'
'Three-thirty. I looked at my watch when Spencer dropped me off at my car. I wanted to see if I had time to stop at the cleaners before I picked Tracey up at preschool.'
Hannah wrote the time in her notebook. 'So Connie Max got here at three-thirty and she had time to change clothes before Sally saw her at four?'
'She barely had time,' Andrea corrected her. 'I don't think Connie Mac was the type to go out in public unless she looked perfect. And don't forget that she had to switch purses. I figure she had about two minutes to spend with her husband, just long enough to give him his orders for the rest of the day.'
Hannah chuckled at her sister's turn of phrase. Andrea's opinion of Connie Mac had obviously hit rock bottom. 'So you think it wasn't an ideal marriage?'
'Not on your life! Any woman who doesn't spend more than two minutes with her husband especially after they've been separated for five days, is a really lousy wife.'
'I'll take your word for that,' Hannah said, turning back to her notebook. 'Was Connie Mac angry about anything when you left her, Andrea?'
'Not that I could see. She was all smiles and she even invited me to the grand opening of her boutique. Something must have happened after she went up to her suite.'
'At least we know she didn't have a fight with her husband. There's no way he could make her that angry in two minutes.' Hannah looked up from her notes as Sally and Andrea started to laugh. 'What did I say?'
Sally tried for a straight face, but it didn't work. 'You don't understand, Hannah. Dick can say something to make me mad in less time than that.'
'And Bill can do it in thirty seconds flat,' Andrea added. 'You don't know much about marriage.'
'And I'm not sure I want to. Then you two think she might have had a fight with Paul?'
'It's certainly possible,' Andrea answered, 'but it's also possible that something happened on her way down to the bar.'
'That's true. How long did she stay in the bar, Sally?'
'Five minutes tops. She went out the same way she came in, as mad as a wet hen. She was really on the warpath, and she heard Connie Mac yelling at Kurt Howe in his room. She was so loud, Francine could hear her right through the closed door.'
'What time was that? And who's Kurt Howe?'
'A quarter after four. Kurt Howe works for Savory Press, the people that publish her cookbooks. He's a nice young guy and he's got a tough job. He told me that they sent him here to handle Connie Mac, and it wasn't easy.'
'That's got to be the understatement of the year,' Hannah said, venturing a grin, 'especially when Connie Mac's the one who's used to doing the handling. Does Francine know why she was yelling at him?'
'Not really. She just caught the tail end of it. But she did hear Connie Mac say that she was going to call the publisher in the morning and have Kurt fired.'
Hannah almost choked on a sip of coffee, and Andrea reached over to thump her on the back. 'Are you all right, Hannah?'
'I'm fine, but we've discovered five suspects already and we just started. Sally's right. It looks
like everyone had a reason to want Connie Mac dead.'
'Five suspects?' Sally looked confused. 'I thought you had only four.'
'The van driver's number one. He must have been steaming about being fired. And Alan Carpenter is number two. Connie Mac threatened to fire him and have him disbarred.'
'We have to include Paul,' Andrea said, taking over the count, 'at least until we find out if he has an alibi. If they had a fight, he was probably just as mad as she was. And Kurt Howe is suspect number four. He could have killed her so she couldn't call the publisher to get him fired.'
Sally nodded. 'Okay, but that's still only four. Who's the fifth, Hannah?'
'Remember that conversation you overheard between Connie Mac and Alan? The man who was getting half of something could have killed Connie Mac to keep her from changing their agreement.'
'I didn't even think of that,' Sally said, obviously impressed. 'But how are you going to find out who he is?'
Hannah turned to her sister. 'You can ask Alan. He'll probably try to fob you off with lawyer-client privilege, but it's worth a try.'
'I'll get it out of him,' Andrea promised.
Sally glanced at her watch and sighed. 'This is getting interesting, but it's past time for me to go out there and play hostess. Come on and I'll treat you to the buffet.'
'Just one more thing before you go.' Hannah stopped Sally before she could leave. 'Do you have any idea where Janie Burkholtz is?'
'She's probably at the table with the rest of the Connie Mac people. They always sit together.'
'She's not there,' Andrea said. 'Mike called her this morning, and when Janie didn't answer the phone in her room, he sent one of the maids up to check. There was no sign of Janie, her bed hadn't been slept in, and all of her things were gone. We need to find her before Bill and Mike do.'
Sally nodded. 'Why don't you ask Paul? Janie had dinner with him Thursday night, and she would have told him if she needed time off.'
'We'll do that,' Hannah promised, and then she started to frown as another, very unwelcome thought occurred to her. 'Did you get the impression that Janie and Paul were close?'
'I guess you could say that. They seemed to have a great time together. As a matter of fact, one of my waitresses said . . . '