Chapter Thirteen
“Yes, I did find her. And yes, she was in the Jacuzzi.” Hannah poured more coffee for a table of women who’d come in for the express purpose of getting more information from her. “I really can’t tell you any details. The sheriff’s department is investigating her death, and they should be circulating an official press release very soon.”
“Hannah?” Lisa motioned her over to the counter.
Hannah made her apologies to the table of ladies and hurried to her partner’s side. “What is it?”
“More cookies. We only have a dozen left, and that’s with the new prices.”
“New prices?”
Lisa nodded. “You told me to handle the financial end of things, and that’s what I’m doing. We’re going to make a good profit today.”
“That’s the only thing I ever felt like thanking Ronni for,” Hannah said, frowning slightly.
“I feel exactly the same way. Anyway…do we have any more cookies left in the freezer?”
“I don’t think so, but I’ll go look. If we don’t, do you want me to bake some?”
“Yes, if you can think of something quick.”
“How about some Boggles?”
“They should work, since the dough doesn’t have to chill.” Lisa glanced at the clock. “It’s almost time for the lull between lunch cookies and afternoon cookies, but I don’t think it’ll be much of a break today. Everybody’s coming in to see you. They’ll wait if I promise them fresh cookies and your firsthand account of finding Ronni.”
“But I can’t give them very much information. About all I can tell them is that she was dead in the hot tub.”
“You don’t have to give them details of the crime scene. Just tell them about your reaction when you found her.”
“My reaction?”
“You know. Say something like this…I was all ready to climb into the water when I realized that there was something in the Jacuzzi. But nobody else was there except Andrea, and she was still exercising. I had a really strange feeling, the kind you get when you think something is wrong. My heart was pounding like a trip hammer, and…”
“Hold it,” Hannah interrupted her. “What’s a trip hammer?”
“I don’t know, but that’s what they always say. Anyway…My heart was pounding like a trip hammer, and my palms were damp, but I just had to move closer. One step and then another, and I stared down into the bubbling water to see what it was.”
“That’s good,” Hannah said, giving her a smile. “What’s next?”
“Let’s see. You could say, I caught sight of it almost immediately. It was red and black, and that’s when I realized it could be…” Lisa stopped and frowned. “No, make that, and that’s when I realized it had to be one of the exercise outfits the female staff wore. But what was it doing in the Jacuzzi? Was one of the instructors using the hot tub as a washing machine? Had someone accidentally dropped it there as they passed by on their way home? Or had someone tossed it in there deliberately to play a prank on an instructor?”
“That’ll have them sitting on the edges of their chairs,” Hannah complimented her partner. “What next?”
“I still felt that prickling sensation. As a matter of fact, it was getting stronger. But I just had to find out what was going on, so I stepped right up to the rim of the tub and grabbed it to haul it out. Now this is when you pause for a minute to build up the suspense. And then you say, I came very close to screaming when my hand encountered something I wasn’t expecting, something that had once been living, and breathing, and teaching classes at Heavenly Bodies. And even though I didn’t really want to, I grabbed that someone, whoever she was, and rolled her over. One look at her still beautiful but lifeless face, and I realized it was my very own fitness instructor, Ronni Ward!”
Hannah just stared at Lisa for a long moment. And then she asked, “Have you been reading a lot of murder mysteries lately?”
“Well…actually, I have. Marge drops them off from the library. When Herb works late, I read. It keeps my mind off missing him.”
“Well, you ought to try writing one. You’re pretty good. I have only one suggestion to give you.”
“What’s that?”
“You tell that story for me. You’re much better at it than I am. Just say I’m in the kitchen baking, but I told you everything, and I said it was okay for you to repeat it.”
Lisa began to smile. “I can do that. It’ll be fun for me, and besides, it’ll give you a break to bake and think about the case. If you take it, that is. You are going to take it, aren’t you?”
“Absolutely. I don’t want the killer to get away with something like this!”
“You’re right, Hannah. Murder is awful.”
“Oh, it’s not murder that’s the problem.” Hannah gave a little grin to show Lisa that she was kidding. “Whoever killed Ronni smashed my cream puffs. And to add insult to injury, since I’m on a diet for Mother’s book launch party, I didn’t even get the chance to taste one!”
Hannah had just finished mixing up the dough for the Boggles when there was a knock on the back door. She hurried to answer it, assuming it was Norman, but instead came face-to-face with her very agitated sister.
“Andrea. Come in.” Hannah took her sister’s coat, hung it on the pegs by the back door, and led her to a stool at the workstation. “You’re shaking. Don’t tell me there’s been another murder!”
“No, but it’s almost as bad as that. I need to calm down, Hannah. Do you have any chocolate?”
“You’ve come to the house of endorphins, the source of the Dark Chocolate River, the heart of the Milk Chocolate Valley, and the foothills of the White Chocolate Mountains.” Andrea gave a wan smile, acknowledging the attempt at humor, but Hannah noticed that her sister was still shaking. “Hold on a second. I’ll get you chocolate you’ll never forget.”
Two minutes later, four Brownies Plus from a catering order and a full mug of coffee sat in front of Andrea. Three minutes later, only two Brownies Plus remained. Another minute and a half, and Andrea was wiping her face and sipping her coffee. That was when Hannah figured it was time to speak. “So tell me what’s wrong,” she said.
“Everything. Remember Shawna Lee?”
“How could I forget?” Hannah gave a deep sigh. Shawna Lee was the last woman who had trifled with Mike’s affections. Or perhaps Mike was the trifler and Shawna Lee was the triflee. Then again, both of them could have been triflers…or triflees. Hannah just wasn’t sure.
“Well, it’s Shawna Lee all over again!” Andrea pronounced.
“Because of Mike? I already know Bill took him off the case.”
“That’s part of it, but it’s even worse than that. It’s Section Fourteen, Article Six of the Winnetka County Sheriff’s official rulebook. A detective must be excused from duty or reassigned at the sheriff’s discretion in the case of personal involvement with the victim. When Shawna Lee was murdered, Bill had to take two detectives off the case.”
“I know that.”
“Well, this time Bill had to take off three detectives!”
“Three detectives were personally involved with Ronni?”
“Yes. And that includes Lonnie.”
“Uh-oh,” Hannah breathed. “Michelle’s going to be livid.”
“That’s what I thought. I called her to break it to her gently, but she already knew because Lonnie called her just as soon as it happened. She’s going to take a midterm early and catch the bus this afternoon. It’ll get in at the Quick Stop at five forty-five tonight.”
“Uh-oh. We’d better meet her and check for weapons. She probably wants to grind Lonnie into little pieces and use him for hamburger.”
“Wrong.”
“Wrong?” Hannah stared hard at her sister.
“She told me they were testing their relationship by dating other people.”
Hannah shook her head. “You’re kidding!”
“No, I’m not. Remember at Lisa and Herb’s family reunion when Michelle told us she wanted to be free to date some professor of hers if he asked?”
“I remember.”
“Well, she must have worked that out with Lonnie. At least he felt free enough to take Ronni dancing last Saturday night. And before you say it, I know he’s at least five years younger than she is…I mean five years younger than she was.”
“This isn’t good,” Hannah said, covering her face with her hands. She sat there for a moment, taking it all in, and then she dropped her hands. “So what’s Michelle’s attitude about all this?”
“It was hard to tell. She was hurt. I could hear that in her voice. But she was the one who said they should try dating other people. I really don’t think she expected Lonnie to go out with anybody.”
“That figures. I wouldn’t expect him to go out with anyone, either. I know he loves Michelle. But I suppose she told him she was going to do it, so he felt he had to follow suit. It was probably a case of male pride. Is Michelle going to stay with Mother?”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. Mother’s really busy with her business. She told me that the Christmas rush for antiques is already starting at Granny’s Attic, and she’s got all sorts of things to do before her book launch party. She feels she won’t be able to give Michelle the attention she needs, and she told me that she’s not very good at dealing with problems when it comes to affairs of the heart.”
“Affairs of the heart? Is that what Mother said?”
“Yes. I thought it was a nice way of putting it.”
“Doctor Love,” Hannah said.
“On KCOW Radio?”
“Yes,” Hannah affirmed it, and then she got back to the subject at hand. “Michelle is welcome to stay with me.”
“I think that would be best. Bill loves Michelle, but there’s going to be a procedural problem since Lonnie’s a murder suspect.”
“What?!”
“Lonnie admits he went out to Heavenly Bodies after he finished his shift at ten. He wanted to tell Ronni he had to cancel the date they’d made for the movies on Friday night. He told Bill he was only there for twenty minutes or so, but there was something wrong with the security system, and the cameras didn’t record him leaving. He also admitted to Bill that they exchanged angry words about something personal.”
There was that word personal again. Whenever people didn’t want to talk about something, they used that word. It was usually an evasion, an excuse to hide some fact they didn’t want anyone to know. Perhaps Lonnie did have something to hide, but somehow Hannah doubted it.
“Anyway,” Andrea continued, “I came here to tell you that Bill’s also excused himself from the case.”
Hannah’s mouth dropped open and she clicked it shut again. “But what’s going to happen if all the top detectives are off the case?”
“He’s got two guys who just passed the detective exam, but they’ve never worked an actual case before. Bill figures they can do some of the legwork, but he needs someone to direct the investigation. He’s calling in Stella Parks from the Cities to take Mike’s place temporarily. She’s coming in tonight.”
“Who’s Stella Parks?”
“She heads up the detective division that Mike used to run in Minneapolis. He worked with her and recommended her for the job when he left. Bill met her when he went to that law enforcement conference in Miami. He says she’s tough as nails, brave as a lion, and she has a mind like a steel trap.”
“That’s three clichés in a row. Does she deserve them?”
“I think so. Bill talked about her, and I got the impression that she’s a real force, if you know what I mean.”
Hannah knew exactly what her sister meant. If Detective Parks was that tough, she might be able to handle the case. She’d check with Mike to find out more about her. But Stella Parks wasn’t the issue, now. Her main concern was Andrea and how she felt about Bill’s excusing himself from the case.
“So are you upset about Bill?” Hannah asked, wondering if she should duck just in case Andrea threw something.
“Of course I am, especially since he doesn’t have an alibi.”
“He wasn’t home with you?”
“He was home, but not until almost three in the morning. He told me that he was driving around checking on a backlog of skip traces. You know what skip traces are, don’t you?”
“I think so. People who have a court date but don’t show up?”
“That’s right. A couple of bail bond companies contract with the sheriff’s department to locate the skip traces and bring them in. The department gets paid for every skip trace they apprehend, and that gives them extra revenue. They use the skip trace money for additional overtime, and personal equipment, and things like that.”
“Did Bill find any skip traces?”
“No, and that’s the problem. Nobody was home. And that means he doesn’t have an alibi.”
“But not having an alibi doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re a suspect.”
“That’s true.”
“You need a motive to be a suspect. I mean, somebody would have had to see Bill with her in a compromising situation before…” Hannah stopped abruptly as tears welled up in Andrea’s eyes. “No!”
“Yes. Bill says it was nothing, that they walked out of Heavenly Bodies together about a week ago. The wind was blowing, and Ronni got something in her eye when he was walking her to her car. Bill leaned over her to see if he could tell what it was. He didn’t even think about how it would look to anyone passing by, but someone saw them and drew the wrong conclusion.”
Hannah got up and gave her sister a big hug. “It’s okay, Andrea. I’m sure it happened exactly the way Bill said it did.”
“So am I but I wouldn’t put it past Ronni to do something like that deliberately to cause trouble between Bill and me. That’s why I want you to solve the case fast and prove that my Bill had nothing to do with it.”