by Joanne Fluke
“Do you know where in Mexico?”
“No. Sorry. But you could probably check with the college. Whoever’s filling in for him at the department should know.”
Hannah was thoughtful on their way back to The Cookie Jar. Pam had always been a good judge of character, and Gordon didn’t sound like the type to murder Willa over a rejected proposal, but Hannah wasn’t willing to let it go. It was possible that Gordon had done it. People flew back and forth to places like Acapulco all the time. Until she’d eliminated that possibility, Gordon would remain on her list.
Hannah stared down at the pile of formal dresses that Marge and Jack Herman had placed on the work island in her kitchen and mouthed the words that the little girl in Poltergeist had exclaimed. “They’re back,” she said, under her breath.
“What was that?” Marge looked puzzled.
“Nothing. Where did you get all these?”
“From Helping Hands. They let us bring all of them. You choose the one you want, and we’ll bring the rest back.”
“Great,” Hannah said, because the first phrase that occurred to her would have shocked everyone.
“I really like the pink satin, but you probably won’t want to wear it with your hair,” Marge went on. “The Kelly green silk is nice, though. And the dotted Swiss with the lavender lining is just darling.”
“I like the purple,” Jack offered his opinion. “It’ll match Herb’s…whatchamacallit.”
Marge turned to him with a smile. “You’re right, Jack. It’ll match Herb’s cape perfectly.”
“That’s it, cape.” Jack returned her smile. “I’m surprised I forgot that word. Especially since we just watched that latest Superman movie. Which dress do you like, Lisa?”
“The turquoise voile. Or…maybe the yellow chiffon. Either one would look nice on you, Hannah.”
“I like the yellow, too,” Marge said, “but I’d take off that orange flower. It looks a little shopworn.”
“Right,” Hannah said, glancing at the huge orange flower that adorned the neckline of the yellow dress. Unfortunately, it covered a plunging neckline, and removing it would expose a whole lot more of her than she wanted to expose. If only Norman weren’t quite so efficient. He’d obviously dropped off her dresses at Helping Hands this morning, and now they were haunting her. She hadn’t expected him to keep them in his trunk forever, but another twenty-four hours would have been nice.
“Do you want to try them on?” Marge asked.
“No, that’s okay. They look like they’ll fit.”
“So which one will you wear?” Lisa asked after a long moment passed and Hannah hadn’t reached out to take one.
Hannah felt like a condemned man ordering his last meal and discovering that his only choices were foods he hated. As far as the dresses were concerned, they were equally bad. She told herself that she’d worn each of these outfits once, and she could make everyone happy if she wore one of them again. It wasn’t too much to ask.
“The purple?” Jack looked hopeful.
“Definitely the purple,” Hannah said, earning a huge smile from Jack. “I think it would be good if I coordinated colors with Herb, don’t you?”
“It’ll be perfect,” Lisa said.
“That’s very sweet of you, Hannah,” Marge said, and Hannah suspected that Marge had guessed the real reason she’d chosen the purple dress.
“Let’s take the rest of these back,” Jack suggested, carefully removing the purple taffeta from the pile and handing it to Hannah. “You’re coming, aren’t you, Marge?”
“Of course I am.”
After Marge and Jack had gone out the back, carrying the dresses, Hannah went to hang the purple taffeta in the bathroom so that she could change before she left for the fairgrounds. When she came out, she found Lisa waiting for her.
“Thanks, Hannah,” Lisa said, giving her a hug. “You made Dad really happy. But are you sure you really want to wear that dress? It’ll look horrible with your hair.”
Hannah shrugged. “That’s okay. It’s only for fifteen minutes or so, and then I’ll change clothes. It’s not like I’m going to wear it forever, you know.”
Hannah glanced at the clock. It was almost two, and they hadn’t had a customer in forty-five minutes. Everyone was out at the fairgrounds, and it was a waste of time and energy for them to stay open. “How about closing at two?” she asked Lisa.
“That’s fine with me. Herb’s getting off at two-thirty, and we’re going out to the fair early with Marge and Dad. And that reminds me, you can cross Mr. Hicks off your suspect list. Marge knows the family, and he’s been in a wheelchair for months. He broke his leg in a bar fight.”
“Thanks, Lisa.” Hannah took out her notebook and crossed off Tasha’s father. “I saw Willa’s killer running away, so it couldn’t possibly have…”
“I’ve got to go to the kitchen right now,” Lisa said. “Tell me later.”
“But we’re all through with the baking. Why do you have to go to the kitchen now?”
“Because Mrs. Rhodes just pulled up out front, and your mother’s getting out of the car.”
Hannah glanced out the plate glass window. Lisa was right. “And you’re deserting me in my hour of need?”
“Yes, but it’s for my own safety. Your mother might be looking for more volunteers. Herb and I saw that piece Wingo Jones did on KCOW television about No-No Fulton. If your mother asked me, I’d probably say yes, and I don’t want to get dunked.”
Hannah laughed and waved her away. She certainly couldn’t blame Lisa for that. She didn’t want to get dunked, either!
“Hello, dear,” Delores said, coming through the doorway as if she owned the place. “Carrie and I just got back from lunch. She’s going to check in with Luanne at the store, and I stopped in to bring you a kitty bag.”
“Don’t you mean doggy bag?”
“No, it’s for Moishe. We had the trout at that new fish place in the mall. It was so good, I ordered takeout for Moishe. There’s coleslaw in there, too, if you want it. He doesn’t eat that, does he?”
“Not usually. Thank you, Mother. That was very sweet of you.”
“You’re welcome.” Mother and daughter were both silent for a moment, and then Delores cleared her throat.
Here it comes, Hannah thought. Her mother hadn’t come all the way into town simply to deliver food for the grandcat who’d shredded a half-dozen pairs of her pantyhose.
“You’re looking into Willa Sunquist’s murder, aren’t you dear?”
“Yes, Mother. Unofficially, of course.”
“Of course. I’m not certain, but I may have some information you’ll find useful.”
“Really?” Hannah’s ears perked up. Delores was a charter member of the Lake Eden gossip hotline, Hannah’s name for the group of women who could spread a rumor ten times faster than a billboard in the center of town. Although Delores insisted that she never repeated gossip, the tidbits she’d divulged to Hannah in the past had helped to solve several murder cases.
“You know I don’t like to gossip, don’t you, dear?”
“Yes, Mother.”
“This may not be important, but Willa came into Granny’s Attic on Tuesday morning, right after she got her hair done. Luanne was working and she said Willa seemed quite Friday faced.”
“Friday faced?”
“Sorry, dear. I’ve been stuck in Regency mode lately. What I meant to say was that Willa appeared to be depressed.”
“Any idea why?”
“Yes, she came right out and told Luanne. She said she found a dress she adored at Claire’s shop, but she couldn’t afford it. And then she asked Luanne if we ever bought old silver.”
This was getting interesting. Hannah poured her mother a cup of coffee and brought out the cookies. “And Luanne told her you did?”
“That’s right. Willa said she’d be right back, and she was, about fifteen minutes later, with a cardboard box full of silver. She said she’d been lugging it around f
or ages and she couldn’t bear to unpack it.”
“Did she say why?”
“Yes. It was from her parents’ house, and looking at it made her miss them too much.”
“I guess I can understand that.”
“Really? Is there something of mine that would make you miss me too much?”
It was a trick question, and Hannah knew it. Whatever she said would be wrong. But she had to say something, so she simply blurted out the truth. “It wouldn’t be any sort of special object, Mother. I think that just waking up in the morning and remembering that you weren’t there would make me miss you every day.”
“Oh, Hannah!” Delores looked perfectly astonished. “I didn’t know that you were so sentimental.”
“I didn’t either,” Hannah said, surprising herself by blinking back a tear. “Don’t tell anyone, okay?”
Delores used her napkin to wipe her eyes. “All right. I won’t.”
“Thank you, Mother. I don’t want to ruin my reputation for being pragmatic. So did Luanne buy the silver from Willa?”
“Yes. She opened the box, and the first thing she saw was a three-tiered filigreed candy dish, circa nineteen forty. And since one of our decorators is looking for a candy dish exactly like it and she’s willing to pay a hundred and fifty dollars, Luanne knew how valuable it was. And right next to the candy dish was a pair of silver candlesticks that must have belonged to Willa’s grandmother.”
“Valuable?”
“Yes. At least a hundred dollars, perhaps more. Luanne asked Willa how much she wanted for the silver, and Willa said she was hoping it would be worth a hundred dollars.”
“So Luanne paid her a hundred dollars?”
“No, dear. That’s not the way we do business at Granny’s Attic. After all, we have to live in this community. It’s different at an auction. Then we get the best bargain we can. But this was a purchase from someone right here in Lake Eden. No one would ever patronize us again if we cheated our neighbors.”
“So Luanne offered Willa two hundred and fifty dollars?”
“Two hundred. We’re entitled to make a profit.”
“And Willa was happy with that?”
“She was delighted, and she went right off to buy her dress. Luanne put the box in the back, and she didn’t get around to going through it until this morning.” Delores frowned slightly. “I’m meandering like the Serpentine, aren’t I, dear?”
Serpentine. River in London. Delores was back in Regency mode again. Hannah just smiled. “That’s okay, Mother. Just tell me what Luanne found.”
“Several other nice pieces, but nothing outstanding. It turned out that two hundred was a fair price.”
“And…” Hannah encouraged her mother to go on.
“Way down at the bottom of the box was another box. It was one of those gift presentation boxes lined with blue velvet. Do you know what I mean, dear?”
“Yes. You gave me some silver salt and pepper shakers in a box like that last year. What was inside Willa’s presentation box?”
“Two crystal champagne glasses in silver sleeves, the kind a bride and groom use to toast each other at weddings.”
“And they were from her parents’ wedding?”
“No, dear. They couldn’t have been. I looked up the history of the company that made them, and they’ve only been in business for three years.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
“I’ll be right back. I need something cold to drink.” Herb Normanoncefanned his face with the schedule they’d picked up at the box office. They were standing outside the stage door to the auditorium, and getting there hadn’t been easy. Hannah and Herb had carried the magic cabinet, which had turned out to be surprisingly heavy. “Do you want me to bring you something?”
“Yes.”
“What?”
“A glass of water and three strong guys. Seriously, Herb…I think we’re going to need some help getting the magic cabinet inside.”
“You’re right. I’ll look around for someone to recruit. Stay by the cabinet, okay? It was expensive, and Lisa and I saved up for a month to buy it.”
Hannah stood there for a few moments, watching the crowds pass by. And then she heard someone call her name. She turned to see Eddy and Ginger Eilers rushing toward her. Both Ginger and Eddy were 4-H Club supporters, and their nine-year-old son, Kenny, had joined the moment he was old enough.
“Kenny, tell Miss Swensen what you told us.” Ginger motioned him forward, and Hannah had the distinct impression that if Kenny had failed to move, both parents would have grabbed him by the arms and shoved him up to face her.
“Okay. I just didn’t want to…you know,” Kenny said, gulping a little.
“He’s afraid he won’t be able to show his calf if he tells you what he did,” Eddy explained. “Kenny broke the rules.”
Hannah was puzzled. “But…I don’t have anything to do with the livestock judging.”
“That’s what I told him. And I also said that maybe you wouldn’t have to say where you got the information.”
“What information?” Hannah asked.
“I know something about the lady that was killed,” Kenny said, “but I didn’t want to say anything because I was sneaking into the barn after it was all locked up to make sure that Boomer was okay.”
“Boomer’s his calf,” Eddy explained. “This is Kenny’s first 4-H competition.”
“He thought Boomer might be lonely in the barn with all those strange calves,” Ginger added.
“I see.” Hannah turned to Kenny. “Then I think it would be best if you tell me what you saw in confidence, and I won’t use your name. Is that okay with you?”
“Okay!” Kenny looked very relieved. “I didn’t know it was important until Princess Michelle came around with the picture. She passed it around, and I recognized that lady. Do you want to know all about when I saw her?”
“That would be a good place to start.”
“Okay. The first time I saw her was on the first night, and she was with a rodeo cowboy. They were fighting, you know…arguing about something. I didn’t hear what it was, but she looked really mad. And then he said some stuff and they made up.”
Hannah took a deep breath and prepared to address what could be a delicate subject. “How do you know they made up?”
“I saw them hugging. They hugged for a long time. And then he walked her out to the parking lot.”
“What did he look like?”
Kenny shrugged. “Like all the rest of the rodeo cowboys.”
“Describe him, Kenny,” Ginger broke in. “Tell Miss Swensen what he was wearing.”
“Oh. Okay, Mom. He was wearing cowboy boots. They all wear cowboy boots. And jeans and a snappy black shirt.”
“He means a shirt with snaps instead of buttons,” Eddy clarified.
“And he had on a cowboy hat. That’s why I don’t know what color his hair is or anything like that. It was one of those big hats.”
“You said Monday night was the first time you saw them.”
“Yeah. I saw them again the next night. It was late and I was checking on Boomer again. They started turning the lights on and off, and I knew I had to get back to the dorm with the other kids.”
“They stay overnight in the dorm building,” Eddy explained. “The parents take turns chaperoning them.”
“She was with that cowboy again,” Kenny went on. “Least-wise I think it was the same cowboy. It was dark, and it was kinda hard to tell. They were just walking past the barn when I saw them.”
“Which way were they going?” Hannah asked.
“Towards the Ferris wheel. And I was going the other way towards the dorm. And then the lights flickered again, and I started to run so I could get in before they locked the door.”
“Was that the last time you saw them?” Hannah asked.
“Yes.”
“Thank you for telling me, Kenny,” Hannah said. “You helped me a lot. And don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone we talke
d.”
After Ginger, Eddy, and Kenny had left, Hannah leaned against the magic cabinet and thought about what she’d learned. On Tuesday night, right after the judging, Willa had told her she was meeting someone. Was that someone the rodeo cowboy that Kenny had seen? She was just wondering how things tied together when she overheard a snatch of conversation.
“Tucker sure messed up with that Brahma,” one man said. “I’ve never seen him get thrown so easy before.”
“Yeah. Makes you wonder, don’t it?”
“Wonder what?”
“Wonder if he did it on purpose. Darn near killed Curly getting that bull sidetracked so Tucker could get out. Hope he’s gonna be okay.”
Hannah risked a peek around the corner. Just as she’d suspected, two rodeo cowboys were headed her way. If they saw her, they’d stop talking so candidly, and she was very interested in what they had to say, especially since she’d just learned that Willa had met a rodeo cowboy on the night that she was killed.
“Poor Curly. You saw him right after. Do you think he’s gonna be all right?” the second cowboy asked.
“I don’t know. He was tore up pretty bad. And Tucker didn’t act right about it, you know?”
“Why? What did he do?”
Hannah couldn’t wait any longer. Their voices were getting louder as they approached, and there was no cover she could take to keep from being seen, except…
The moment she thought of it she was moving, opening the door of the magic cabinet and stepping inside. She closed the door, latched it from the inside, and peeked out through one of the slots for the swords as the two cowboys came around the corner.
“Most guys that come over that top rail look like they saw a ghost. They’re real scared. Tucker wasn’t. He was grinning until he saw I was watching him.”
“That’s real bad if you’re right about it. But why’d Tucker want to hurt Curly?”
Their voices had sounded familiar, and now that she’d seen them Hannah knew why. They’d been a part of the group of rodeo cowboys giving the trick roping demonstration the first morning of the fair. Had Willa known one of these cowboys? Had seeing him again been such a shock that Hannah and Pam had mistaken Willa’s reaction for sunstroke?
