Red Velvet Cupcake Murder (23 page)

“T
ranquilizers,” Doc said the moment Sally had left. “Three times the normal dosage and that was only in the coffee that was left in the thermos. Whoever did it must have dumped a whole bottle in there.”

“I have a question for you,” Hannah said. “I know Doctor Bev was drinking sparkling water at lunch yesterday. Why didn’t it show up in her stomach contents?”

“Because there’s not much to identify in carbonated water. It would merely have diluted the other liquid contents.”

“Does Mike know that the tranquilizers were in the thermos?” Hannah asked.

“I called from the hospital to tell him. We invited him to dinner when he stopped by to pick up the report, but he said he was busy and I could give you the good news myself.”

I wonder if he’s busy with Misty, that waitress out at the Corner Tavern, or whether he’s busy with work
, Hannah thought to herself. She hoped it was work. But instead of spending time thinking about that, she asked another question. “Was there anything else in Doctor Bev’s stomach that . . . uh . . . maybe I shouldn’t ask about that now.”

“It’s all right, dear,” Delores said. “This conversation would have bothered me a few months ago, but Doc’s been doing his best to desensitize me.”

“Is it working?” Doc asked her.

“Somewhat.” Delores gave a ladylike little shiver. “But it’s not doing much for my appetite.” She turned to Hannah. “Could you ask another question, dear? One that doesn’t have the words
stomach
or
contents
in it?”

“Actually, there’s another important question,” Hannah said, remembering what Barbara had said about her water pitcher. “Do you know if Barbara has ever knocked over her water pitcher?”

Delores looked surprised. “I can answer that, dear. Yes, she has and it happened just last night. Her nurse went to get another bag of glucose for her IV drip and when she came back into Barbara’s room, the water pitcher was on the floor.”

Norman and Hannah exchanged glances. Either Barbara had actually tried to hit someone with her water pitcher, or she’d knocked it over accidentally. Now, after the fact, there was no way of knowing for certain.

“Is it important, dear?” Delores asked when Hannah didn’t respond.

“Not really. It’s just something she mentioned and I was wondering if it had happened.”

“All right then.” Delores smiled at Hannah. “Since you’re no longer a suspect, I think we should celebrate. I wonder where Sally is with the . . .” Delores peeked out of the curtain they’d pulled for privacy in one of Sally’s raised booths. “Here she comes now.”

“Knock, knock,” Sally said, and then she pulled the curtain open. “Here we are, Delores. I made my special appetizer tray for you.”

They all watched in awe as one of the waitresses set a large silver platter in the center of their table. There were small slices of black bread topped with smoked salmon, cream cheese, and capers, several kinds of pâté to spread on toast points, and a round of Brie baked in a pastry crust, surrounded by small bunches of grapes.

“Very impressive,” Doc Knight said, smiling at Sally.

“Thank you.” Sally smiled back. “I love to do these appetizer platters.”

“Will you join us?” Delores asked, sliding over a bit so that Sally could sit.

“I shouldn’t,” Sally said, but Hannah noticed she wasn’t slow to take a seat. “I understand we have something to celebrate?”

“We do,” Doc answered. “Hannah is no longer a suspect in Doctor Bev’s murder.”

“Well, thank goodness for that!” Sally raised her glass.

“Anybody who thought that she was should have their head examined.”

“By me,” Doc said and everyone laughed.

Sally turned to Hannah. “Would you mind coming with me for a minute? I have that recipe you wanted, but I left it on my desk. And if you don’t get it now, I’ll probably forget which pile of papers it’s in. It’ll only take a minute or two.”

Hannah wasn’t fooled for a second as she followed Sally out of the curtained enclosure. Something was up.

“I’ve got Josh waiting for you in my office,” Sally said, the moment they were out of earshot. “He’s one of my newest busboys and he filled Doctor Bev’s silver thermos this morning.”

 

“Hannah? This is Josh. He’s my newest busboy.” Sally turned to smile at the teenager, who looked exceedingly uncomfortable. “Tell Miss Swensen what happened when you filled Doctor Bev’s thermos.”

Josh took a deep breath. “She asked me to fill it with coffee and I did. But first I took it into the kitchen and rinsed it out with scalding hot water the way we’re supposed to do with thermoses.”

“Very good. What happened next?”

“She told me she wanted a fresh pot of coffee, not the coffee from the carafe we have at the breakfast buffet. She said to put a quarter-cup of real cream in the bottom and then eights packs of artificial sweetener. After that, I should add the coffee and leave enough room so that I could shake it before I brought it up to her room.”

“And you took it up to her room?” Hannah asked.

“Yeah. She was on the phone and she told me to leave it on the table by the door. And then, before I could leave, she told me she’d changed her mind and I should take it down and put it on the floor behind the driver’s seat of her new car.”

“Did you do that?”

“Yeah. It was a beautiful car!”

“Did she give you the keys?”

“She didn’t have to. She said it was parked in a no parking zone in the back of the hotel and the top was down.”

“Did anybody else see you put the thermos in the car?”

“Sure. There were a couple of other people out there admiring the car. And then, just as I was leaving, Mr. Dalworth came down to drive it up to the front for her.”

“Do you know if he saw the thermos?”

Josh shrugged. “I don’t know. He didn’t see me put it in the car and it was on the floor behind the driver’s seat, where she told me to put it. He probably didn’t even notice it at all.”

 

Dinner at the Inn had been wonderful, as always, and once Hannah had told them about Sally’s new dessert, they’d all had the Snappy Turtle Pie with a Snappy Turtle Cookie on top. Hannah was certain she couldn’t eat another bite as she climbed into Norman’s car.

“Are you as stuffed as I am?” Norman asked, taking the access road to the highway.

“I’m more than stuffed. I think I’m positively round.” They rode in companionable silence until they reached Hannah’s condo complex. They’d already discussed the busboy she’d interviewed about the thermos when Hannah had returned to the table. Doc had told them that the fingerprint team hadn’t been able to get any clear prints from the outside and they’d all concluded that absolutely anyone at the Inn could have opened the thermos and dropped in the tranquilizers. They’d also talked about Roger and the fact that both Norman and Sally thought he was genuinely heartbroken over Doctor Bev’s death. Her murder was still a complete mystery and nothing Hannah had discovered was helping to solve it.

“I can take Moishe up the stairs for you,” Norman said as they pulled into Hannah’s extra parking space.

“That’s okay. I can do it. You look tired.”

“I am. It’s been a long day and I didn’t sleep very well last night.” Norman reached over to give her a hug. “If you’re sure you don’t mind, I’ll just drive home and fall into bed.”

“I don’t mind at all,” Hannah told him, picking up the end of Moishe’s leash. “Come on, Moishe. Let’s go up and get to bed ourselves.”

“I’ll pull out and make sure you get into your condo okay,” Norman promised as Hannah and Moishe got out of his car. “I’ll watch from the visitor parking lot.”

“Okay,” Hannah said, knowing it was futile to argue. Norman was unfailingly considerate and he’d wait until she got into her condo safely before he drove off.

It didn’t take long for Hannah and Moishe to get to the head of the stairs. Both of them were eager to go inside, but they waited until Norman pulled into the visitor parking lot before Hannah opened the door. She gave a wave, Norman gave a polite little beep on his horn, and Moishe led her inside. “Michelle?” she called out.

There was no answer and Hannah glanced at the clock. Her cookie truck had been parked in her spot and that meant Michelle had come back from The Cookie Jar. It was only nine at night. Surely Michelle wasn’t sleeping already!

One glance inside the guest room and Hannah could see that it was empty. Perhaps Lonnie had picked up her youngest sister for a date. If Michelle had left, there would be a note in front of the coffee pot or on the kitchen table. Michelle always left a note.

“Go ahead, Moishe,” Hannah told him, noticing that he was eyeing the door of her bedroom hopefully. She went in to turn down the bed for him and patted his pillow. “You can go to bed. I’m going to go see if there’s a note from Michelle.”

As Hannah retraced her steps to the living room, she heard a thump from her bedroom. Moishe had accepted her invitation to go to bed. She flicked on the kitchen light and spotted the note on the table. Michelle was every bit as considerate as Norman was.

Ran into Lorna Kusak when I came back here
, the note read.
She’s having a graduation party for Chris tonight and I said I’d help her with the refreshments. Howie and Esther are there and Lorna said to come over when you get home so you can taste Howie’s Guac Ad Hoc. He’s bringing a huge batch and everybody loves it
.

The last thing Hannah wanted to do was go to a teenage party, but Howie and his wife were there and she wanted to tell him the good news about the thermos and how she’d been cleared as a suspect. Then there was the guacamole. She’d heard that Howie made the best in town and she’d never had the chance to taste it. If she liked it and if she played her cards correctly, she might even be able to talk him into sharing the recipe!

H
annah had expected a noisy teenage party, but she heard no music as she approached Lorna’s condo. That was odd. Michelle had said it was a graduation party for Chris. She didn’t know a single teenager who’d just graduated from high school who would want a party without music. Was the party over this soon?

Light spilled out on the walkway that led to Lorna’s front door and Hannah could hear the thumping of dancing feet. The party wasn’t over. That much was clear. But how could Chris and his friends dance without music?

Hannah rang the doorbell and a moment later, Lorna opened the door. “Hi, Hannah,” she said with a smile. “I’m so glad you could make it! Come into the living room and join the adults. The kids are all dancing on the back patio.”

“But I don’t hear any music,” Hannah said as she stepped into the quiet living room where Esther and Howie were sitting, along with Lorna’s sister and brother-in-law. “How can the kids dance without music?”

“They have music. Come with me and I’ll show you.”

Lorna led Hannah to the open patio door where they could look out on the party. There were at least ten couples dancing on the patio and every single one was wearing earphones!

“Those earphones are incredible!” Hannah commented, watching them glow in the twinkle lights that Lorna had used to decorate the rafters on the patio. They were made of fluorescent plastic in bold colors and the clear plastic headbands flashed with the beat of the music.

“I know. The kids just love them.”

“You bought wireless earphones for everybody?” Hannah asked.

“No, I rented them from a store at the Tri-County Mall. It’s a great store, Hannah. It’s called Crazy Quiet Parties and they’ve got all sorts of fun things that don’t make very much noise.”

“Your neighbors are going to love you,” Hannah told her as they walked back into the living room. “Did Howie bring his Guac Ad Hoc?”

“Three batches,” Howie said, overhearing her question. “Help yourself. It’s right there on the table. And then come over here and tell me how you like it.”

Hannah took a small spoonful of Guac Ad Hoc and surrounded it with salted tortilla chips. She scooped up a little guacamole with a chip and popped it into her mouth. There was an instant explosion of flavors on her palate. She tasted rich buttery avocado, the tang of lemon juice, the fresh hint of oregano, and the smooth coolness of sour cream, all enhanced by just the right amount of garlic and onion. There was a crunch in addition to the tortilla chip and Hannah was amazed to taste bacon. “Wow!” she said, walking back to Howie with another loaded chip in her hand. “This Guac Ad Hoc is fantastic!”

“You like the oregano?”

“I love it. It makes guacamole into something entirely different.”

“You can make it with cilantro if you want to. It’s just that Florence doesn’t always have cilantro and Esther grows oregano in her kitchen window garden. I tasted it, thought it would work, and found an alternative.”

“It’s a
great
alternative.”

“Thanks.” Howie looked pleased. “Do you want the recipe?”

“Yes, I’d love to have it.”

Howie reached into his pocket, pulled out a recipe card, and handed it to Hannah. “Here you go. I always print these out before I take it to a party.” His smile disappeared and he looked very serious. “Are there any new developments, Hannah?”

“There’s a big one,” Hannah told him. “Mike sent a diver down this afternoon and he recovered a thermos from Doctor Bev’s car. The coffee that was left in the thermos was laced with enough tranquilizers to kill her.”

“Where did she get the coffee?”

“A busboy named Josh filled it with coffee that morning at the Inn and put it in her car for her. The car wasn’t locked and the top was down.”

“So anyone out there could have dropped the tranquilizers into the thermos.”

“That’s right.”

“And since you didn’t give her the coffee, you’re off the official suspect list?”

“Exactly.”

Howie looked relieved. “Good! I wasn’t looking forward to that trial. I know I could have gotten you off, but that wouldn’t remove the cloud of suspicion you’d still have hanging over your head.”

“I know. I’ll have to figure out who killed her in order to completely clear my name.”

“And you’re going to do that?”

“I’m going to
try
to do that,” Hannah corrected him.

“All I can say is be careful, Hannah! There’s someone out there who doesn’t care if an innocent person is convicted for the crime he or she committed.”

“I know. I’ll be careful. Send me a bill and I’ll pay you, Howie. I appreciate what you did for me.”

Howie waved away that suggestion. “No charge, Hannah. Just bake me some Molasses Crackles every once in a while. I love those cookies.”

“That’s easy,” Hannah said. “We’ll deliver them to your office tomorrow.”

“Great! I wish every client I’ve lost this week could bake.”

“You lost another client?”

Howie nodded. “A big one. I’ve got to admit I’m upset about it. Warren Dalworth switched to a lawyer in the Cities.”

“Really?” Hannah asked, remembering what her mother had said about the visitor in the three-piece suit who had come to see Warren in the hospital. “How about Roger? He’s still with you, isn’t he?”

“Yes, but Roger doesn’t do much business with me. Almost everything goes through Dalworth Enterprises and Warren controls that . . . at least for now. I no longer know what will happen when Warren dies. And I understand from Roger that his condition is terminal.”

Hannah’s antenna for trouble went on full alert. “But Warren’s wife is dead and Roger is his only son. He’ll inherit Dalworth Enterprises, won’t he?”

“That’s the way Warren set it up with me. I don’t know what’s changed now that Warren has a new will.”

“There’s a new will in place?”

“Yes. I never would have known about it, but a guy I knew from law school dropped by to see me at the office the other day. He’s working for a big firm in the Cities. I asked him what he was doing here in Lake Eden and he said he drew up a will for somebody and he had to go to the hospital to get it signed. Of course I asked him who his client was and when he said it was Warren Dalworth, you could have knocked me over with a feather.”

“Did you try to find out why Warren used someone else?”

“Of course I did. The next morning I went out to the hospital to see Warren and ask him what was going on. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the chance to talk to him. He was in I.C.U. and the visitors’ list was limited to members of his immediate family. Roger was there, visiting his father.”

“Did you get a chance to talk to Roger?”

“Yes. I waited for him to come out and I asked him about the new will. He said that his father had told him about calling in a lawyer from Minneapolis and changing a few things to make it easier for him to take over Dalworth Enterprises when the time came.”

Hannah was curious. “Do you have any idea what those changes could be?”

“I don’t have a clue unless circumstances have changed over the past month or so. I thought that Warren and I had every contingency covered in the will I drew up for him.”

“Did Roger give you any reason why his father called in a lawyer from Minneapolis?”

“Yes. He was reluctant to say it, but Roger thinks his father’s mind is slipping. He said Warren probably forgot he had a lawyer right here in town.”

“Poor Warren!” Hannah didn’t like to think that the man most people regarded as the shrewdest investor and developer in the state could be failing mentally. “And poor Roger, too. It must be awful to see your father failing that way.”

“Roger’s had a lot of grief lately.” He was silent for a moment and then he continued. “Roger was embarrassed. It was clear he didn’t want to go into details, but he said that when he asked Warren what was wrong with the will I drew up for him, Warren didn’t seem to know who I was and he didn’t remember that he even
had
a will.”

“That doesn’t sound good.”

“No, it doesn’t. Of course Warren is on some pretty strong pain medication so we have to make allowances for that.”

“But do you think he was capable of making out a new will?”

Howie shrugged. “I don’t know. I didn’t speak to him. But if what Roger says is true, Warren certainly shouldn’t have drafted a will without the advice and assistance of someone he knew and trusted.”

“Like you?”

“Not necessarily. It could have been someone like Doc Knight, or an old friend he knew in town.”

“But Warren did it all by himself.”

“That’s what I understand. And he did it with a lawyer who’d never met him before and couldn’t accurately judge his mental state.”

Hannah shivered slightly. “What if there’s something . . . wrong in the will?”

“That’s exactly what Roger asked me. He didn’t see the new will and all he knows about it is what his father told him. He asked me what he could do if his father had done something crazy, like leave Dalworth Enterprises to a total stranger, or a shelter for homeless earthworms.”

“What did you tell Roger?”

“I said that if there was something outrageous like that in Warren’s new will, it might go toward proving that Warren was incompetent, or not in his right mind when he instructed his new lawyer and signed the will. The courts have to decide that.”

“And if they do, then the new will can be . . .” Hannah stopped, unable to think of the correct legal term. “Revoked?”

“Declared invalid,” Howie provided the phrase. “If Warren was not of sound mind when he signed the new will, it doesn’t exist.”

 

Forty-five minutes was long enough to stay at a teenage party even if the teenagers were dancing to music the adults couldn’t hear. Hannah and Michelle got back to Hannah’s condo at five minutes to ten.

“Do you want to catch Moishe, or shall I?” Michelle asked as Hannah drew out her keys.

“I’ll do it, but I don’t think he’ll be jumping into anyone’s arms tonight. He was so tired, he was snoring on my pillow when I left.”

“Cuddles?” Michelle asked.

“Cuddles,” Hannah confirmed it. “They were playing chase when we left for dinner.”

Hannah held out her arms, but no orange and white twenty-two-pound cat landed anywhere in the vicinity. They walked in, shut the door, and listened to the faint snoring coming from Hannah’s bedroom.

“Your guard cat is sleeping,” Michelle commented.

“I know. How about you? Are you tired?”

“Not really. Maybe we should bake. That always gets me relaxed enough to go right to sleep.”

“Sounds good to me,” Hannah said, heading for the kitchen to switch on the lights. “What do you want to bake?”

“Something we can use tomorrow at The Cookie Jar. You decide.”

Hannah thought about that for a moment, but before she could decide, the phone rang. She reached up to grab the wall phone that hung near the kitchen table. “Hello?”

“Thank goodness you’re home, dear!”

“Mother?” Hannah was surprised. She’d seen her mother less than an hour and a half ago. Surely nothing drastic had happened in that short length of time.

“You weren’t in bed, were you?”

“No, Mother. Michelle and I were about to bake. Where are you?”

“At the hospital. We’re having some trouble with Barbara tonight.”

“What kind of trouble? She’s not worse, is she?”

“Not physically. This is very silly, but Jenny’s talked to her, Doc’s talked to her, and I’ve talked to her. We just can’t make her understand that you’re not bringing Moishe back tonight. She insists you said you were.”

“Uh-oh!” Hannah sighed deeply as she thought back to her parting words. “Barbara asked me if I’d bring Moishe back and I said I would. I had no idea she wanted me to bring him back after dinner
tonight
.”

“That’s what we all told her, but she said you promised. And she claims she can’t go to sleep until you get here with Moishe. She’s very agitated, dear. Doc says he can give her an injection that will put her to sleep, but he hates to do that when she’s doing so much better in every other way.”

“Tell Doc Knight to hold off. I’ll be there in . . .” Hannah glanced at the clock. “Less than twenty minutes. Better warn her though. Moishe’s tired from playing with Cuddles while we were at dinner and he’ll probably just fall asleep on her bed.”

“I think that’s what she wants, dear. She’s hoping that Moishe can stay overnight. We can rig up a litter box in Barbara’s bathroom. That’s no problem. And I can take the rest of Jenny’s shift and sleep on her cot in the room.”

Hannah made a quick decision. “No, Mother. I’ll take Jenny’s cot and stay with Barbara and Moishe.”