Lemon Meringue Pie Murder (Hannah Swensen Mysteries) (17 page)

Hannah followed Jon through the storage area at the back of the store and into the small cubicle he called his office. It was closet-sized, barely large enough to hold his desk and two chairs, but it was private and that suited Hannah’s purpose.

“Coffee?” Jon asked, gesturing toward a small coffeemaker. It was clear the carafe hadn’t been cleaned in recent memory and it was half-filled with dregs of a brown liquid that looked lethal to Hannah.

“Thanks, but no. What’s with all these new rules you have? Did somebody break into the pharmacy?”

“No, nothing like that. I just decided we were getting too lax and it was time to beef up our security.”

Hannah gave him a challenging look. “Come on, Jon. Nobody fixes something that isn’t broken. Level with me and tell me what gives.”

Jon dropped his eyes and refused to meet hers. “Let’s just say we had an unfortunate incident and I had to make certain it couldn’t happen again.”

“Unfortunate incident? You sound like a politician, Jon.”

“Maybe I do, but I can’t tell you any more than that.”

Hannah studied Jon carefully. His mouth was set in a straight line and he looked determined not to say more. “Okay. If Rhonda wasn’t involved in this incident of yours, I don’t have to know what it was.”

There was complete silence from Jon, although he looked very nervous, and Hannah put two and two together. “Rhonda
was
involved.”

“Yes. I see where you’re going, Hannah. You think this might have something to do with Rhonda’s murder. Are you working with the sheriff’s department again?”

“I’ve never worked with the sheriff’s department. They’ve always taken great pains to let me know that they don’t want me.”

“I guess that’s true.” Jon gave a small, humorless laugh. “But you
are
investigating Rhonda’s murder, aren’t you?”

“Unofficially, yes. And that’s why I need to know.”

“What I say has to stay with you. You can’t tell anyone else.”

“You’ve got it,” Hannah said and sat back to wait. Jon had caved and this might be good.

“Rhonda was working late last month, making out her order for the cosmetic department. I’d already left for home and she was the only one here. Around eight o’clock Reggie York pulled up and he hammered on the door. He told Rhonda he’d called in a prescription from work, but traffic was heavy and he’d just gotten back to town.”

Hannah knew Reggie was Gus and Irma York’s oldest son and they were very proud that he’d landed a job as a pilot for Worldways Airline. The last time Hannah had seen Irma, she’d complained that Reggie’s commute to and from the airport in the Twin Cities took longer than most of his flights.

“Rhonda did exactly what I would have done. She let him in. Since she was my manager, she had a master key. She unlocked the door to the pharmacy and found his prescription on the shelf.”

“Rhonda filled his prescription?”

“No, it was filed alphabetically and all ready to go. She rang it up and then she asked Reggie if he was still flying.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing. Not then. When Reggie said he was, Rhonda said she thought pilots who had glaucoma were grounded.”

“How did she know Reggie had glaucoma?”

“Her great-aunt, Mrs. Voelker, had glaucoma. Rhonda used to pick up her medicine and deliver it to her. That’s how she recognized the name of the eyedrops Reggie used.”

“Let me guess,” Hannah said with a sigh. “Rhonda blabbed, somebody reported it to Worldways, and Reggie was grounded?”

“That’s exactly what happened. Reggie’s glaucoma was mild and it was completely under control, but Worldways has very strict rules about their pilots. Reggie applied for a desk job right after he was diagnosed, but it hadn’t come through yet and he could have been fired for concealing his condition.”

“So Reggie was angry with Rhonda for blabbing?”

“Angry wasn’t the word. Reggie was fit to be tied. He called me at home on Thursday night and threatened to sue me for breach of confidentiality.”

Hannah’s mouth dropped open. “Reggie’s suing you?”

“No, I managed to calm him down. He wasn’t really angry with me, but he was furious with Rhonda for gossiping about his disease. He demanded that I change the lock on the pharmacy door and guarantee that no one except a registered pharmacist could get inside. And he also demanded that I fire Rhonda.”

“Oh boy,” Hannah groaned. “Did you fire her?”

“I had to. I told her on Friday morning when she came in to work. I felt bad about it, especially since it was her last day before her vacation, but I knew that people would take their prescriptions to another pharmacy if they found out about it.”

“How did Rhonda take it?”

“That was the surprising thing. I expected her to beg me to reconsider, or tell me off, but she didn’t seem upset at all. She just said she could understand why I had to let her go and she went out the back way smiling.”

“That’s strange. How about your other employees? Do any of them know about this?” Hannah asked the question even though she thought she already knew the answer.

“I didn’t see any point in telling them. I just tightened security the way I promised Reggie I would.”

“I’ve got a tough question for you,” Hannah warned him. “Do you think Reggie was mad enough at Rhonda to kill her?”

Jon thought about it for a moment and then he sighed. “I don’t like to think so, but I suppose it’s possible. Reggie really loved to fly.”

“Thanks for being honest with me, Jon. I only have one more question and I don’t want you to take it personally. Where were you on Friday night?”

“You think
I
killed Rhonda?” Jon looked utterly shocked.

“Of course not, but you did have a motive.”

“What
motive?”

“If things had gone differently, Rhonda could have cost you your business. I’ve got to put you on my suspect list, but I can cross you off if I know where you were.”

“I guess it can’t hurt to tell you. I picked Judy up right after I locked up at five, and we drove to Mille Lacs Lake for my mother-in-law’s birthday. You can check with Judy. We stayed over that night and drove back early Saturday morning so that I could open at nine.”

“Thanks, Jon.” Hannah slipped her steno pad back into her purse and stood up to leave. She glanced at his coffeemaker as she passed it and sighed. “The next time you come in The Cookie Jar, the coffee’s on me. You could probably bottle that stuff of yours and sell it for rat poison.”

W
hen Hannah got back to Norman’s clinic, she still had four minutes to wait. She took out her steno pad and jotted a note to speak to Reggie York at the first opportunity. Rhonda’s gossip had almost cost him his job and that was certainly a motive for murder. Then she placed Reggie second on her list of suspects, right after Ken Purvis. Since she’d eliminated both Reverend Knudson and Gil Surma as Rhonda’s possible dinner companion, Ken was left holding the bag, or rather, the boxes of osso buco.

The sliding glass door that separated the receptionist desk from the waiting room opened and Norman’s smiling face appeared. “Oh, good. You’re here. We’ll be right out.”

Hannah heard Norman giving his patient last-minute instructions, something about a soft toothbrush and a special brand of toothpaste, and then the interior door to the waiting room opened. Norman stood aside to let his patient precede him and Hannah smiled as she saw her baby sister. “Hi, Michelle. I didn’t know you were here.”

“Hi, Hannah. Dr. Rhodes is wonderful. Just look at what he did for me!”

Michelle smiled and Hannah gasped in shock as she saw two gemstones embedded in her sister’s front teeth.

“Isn’t it wonderful?” Michelle reached up to tap her front teeth. “This one’s red and this one’s blue. Now I’m unique and I’m patriotic, too. It’s just perfect for the Fourth of July.”

Hannah struggled to make a sound, but she was so flustered, she couldn’t say a word. Michelle’s front teeth were ruined! She took a deep breath, called upon her vocal cords to do their thing and managed to croak out a response. “How
could
you, Norman?!”

Norman exchanged a glance with Michelle and they both started to laugh. Hannah got up, preparing to storm out of the clinic and banish Norman from her life forever, but Norman grabbed her arm.

“I didn’t really do anything, Hannah. They’re just temporary.”

“What do you mean?”

“The teeth with the gemstones are attached to a retainer that fits in Michelle’s mouth. Her regular teeth aren’t affected at all.”

“Oh,” Hannah said, sinking back down in the chair. “Then they’re fakes?”

“I prefer to call them a miracle of modern dentistry, but you can call them fakes. Show her, Michelle.”

Hannah watched as Michelle loosened the caps and took them out of her mouth. She smiled and Hannah breathed a big sigh of relief as she saw that her sister’s teeth were intact. “Thank goodness for that! I really didn’t think you’d do anything permanent, Norman.”

“Yes, you did. I saw that fire in your eyes. You were all ready to kick me from here to the next county, maybe even out of the state.”

“Well…maybe,” Hannah conceded.

“Don’t worry, Hannah.” Michelle slipped the retainer into a little plastic box and placed it inside her purse. “I’ll tell Mother they’re fake before I even take them out of the box.”

“Good girl. Mother can’t stand another shock. Finding Rhonda’s body really took the wind out of her sails.”

“I know. She told me.” Michelle turned back to Norman. “Are you sure I can’t pay you? I’ve got some money saved.”

“Keep your money. We already worked out a payment plan.”

“Were they expensive?” Hannah asked. She hadn’t bought Michelle’s birthday present yet, and she was sure that Andrea would split the cost of the retainer with her.

“They were
very
expensive, but we worked out a deal.” Norman winked at her. “Your sister’s on my special time-payment plan. For every ‘A’ she gets, I deduct fifty dollars from her bill. And every ‘B’ is worth twenty-five. She tells me she’s a good student, so I figure that by the end of her junior year she’ll own her retainer free and clear.”

Michelle shook her head. “It won’t take me that long. I plan to get perfect grades next semester and I’ll send you a copy.”

“Make sure that you do. And stop by the next time you come home so I can see how they’re holding up.”

“I will.”

“How about lunch? Hannah and I are going over to the café.”

“Thanks, but I can’t. I promised to meet some friends for lunch. ’Bye, Hannah. And thanks again, Dr. Rhodes. These teeth are going to just blow the girls away!”

“More coffee, Hannah?” Rose approached the booth with the pot in her hand.

“No, thanks.”

“How about that salad? Do you want me to take it away?”

“Might as well. I already ate all the good stuff.”

Rose glanced down at the remains of Hannah’s Chicken Caesar and nodded. “I can see that. The only thing left is lettuce. Don’t you like romaine?”

“I like it just fine, but I’ve had enough lettuce to last me for a month. Maybe more than a month.”

“You must be on a diet,” Rose guessed, sliding into the other side of the booth. “I noticed it when you came in with Norman. I even said to Hal,
Hannah looks thinner
.”

“You did?” Hannah felt her spirits perk up. They’d hit rock bottom about ten minutes ago, when Norman’s pager had gone off and he’d told her that he had to go back to the clinic to handle a dental emergency.

“I’m not even going to say what I have for dessert. No sense in tempting you.”

“I’m already tempted. The minute I set foot in here, I started dreaming about your coconut cake.”

“Then you’re in luck.” Rose leaned forward and grinned at her.

“No, I’m not. I can’t have it.”

“I know that. I was just about to say that Mayor Bascomb took the last piece back to his office. Does that make you feel better?”

“Only if I can get over to his office and mug him before he eats it.”

Rose laughed and Hannah knew she was pleased. Her coconut cake was legendary, but she never got tired of hearing people rave about it.

“Mind if I sit for a minute?” Rose asked.

“Not at all,” Hannah said. Rose was already sitting, so the question was moot.

“Everybody loves that coconut cake. When Irma York was in this morning, she ordered two for Reggie’s bachelor party.”

Hannah’s ears perked up at the mention of Reggie’s name. “I didn’t know Reggie was getting married.”

“Neither did Irma until Friday night. He’s been dating this girl in Hawaii. She’s a reservations agent for Worldways. When Reggie found out he got promoted on Friday morning, he flew straight to Honolulu to ask her to marry him.”

“That’s wonderful news,” Hannah said and she silently added,
in more ways than one.
If Reggie had flown to Hawaii on Friday, he couldn’t have murdered Rhonda.

“Irma’s all excited about going to Hawaii for the wedding. They’re getting free tickets from Worldways since the kids are both employees.” Rose glanced at her watch and slid out of the booth. “Lisa’s burger should be ready by now. I told Hal to put on extra pickles and mustard, and he’s throwing in an order of fries for you to share. People on diets should have more vegetables. I read that in a magazine.”

“Here you go, Lisa.” Hannah handed her partner the bag from the café and gestured toward the kitchen. “Go eat. And then find something to do for an hour. And I don’t mean baking, either. You need a break.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure. You haven’t had any time off in a week.”

“Okay.” Lisa gave her a big grin. “When I’m through with lunch, I’ll run down to Kiddie Korner. All the seniors are there and they’re helping Tracey’s class decorate the float.”

“That’s nice. Have you seen it yet?”

“I saw it last night. It’s going to be spectacular, Hannah. Andrea really had a great idea.”

“She did?” Hannah felt her curiosity rise. “What colors are they using?”

Lisa shook her head. “I can’t tell you. I’ve been sworn to secrecy about everything. Andrea and Janice don’t want you to know anything about it until the day of the parade.”

Hannah gave up. Lisa could keep a secret better than anyone she knew and it was a lost cause.

“Hi, Hannah.” Andrea popped through the front door of The Cookie Jar just as Hannah had finished refilling the coffee mugs. “I’ve got great news. Danielle Watson is back in town. She looks absolutely wonderful, much better than she did when she was married to the coach.”

“I’m really glad to hear that.” Hannah knew she’d never forget how terrified Danielle had been when everyone in town thought she’d killed her husband. “Is she back for a visit?”

“No, for good.”

“Really? I thought you sold her house for her when she went to stay with her mother in Florida.”

“I did. Danielle said there were too many unhappy memories and she didn’t want to keep it. Now that she’s back, she’s looking for a condo. Are there any units for sale in your complex? There’s nothing listed, but sometimes people try to sell on their own.”

Hannah tried to think of any likely candidates. “You could try Mrs. Wozniac. Her sister’s husband died and she was talking about moving in with her.”

“Thanks. That’s a good lead.” Andrea pulled out her leather-bound appointment book and jotted down the name. “Anybody else?”

“Not that I know of, but check with Sue Plotnik. Phil’s president of the homeowners’ association and nobody can put up a For Sale sign without his approval.”

“That’s another good lead. Have you ever thought of going into real estate, Hannah?”

“Never.” Hannah knew she’d better change the subject before Andrea tried to recruit her. “Is Danielle going to look for a job in town?”

“Not exactly. She’s opening a dance studio and I found the perfect spot for her. I showed her the loft above Red Owl Grocery and she rented it on the spot. She absolutely fell in love with the high windows and the hardwood floor. And that reminds me, did you know that Red Owl used to be a big grocery chain? The chain went under, but our store petitioned the board of directors and got permission to keep the name.”

“That’s interesting. When is Danielle going to open for business?”

“In September, right after school starts. She said it wouldn’t take much work to convert the loft. All she needs to do is resurface the floor, install floor-to-ceiling mirrors, and decorate it.”

“Good for her.” Hannah was pleased.

“I’m just glad I thought to show it to her. It’s been on the books for over three months and I thought I’d never get it rented. I really hope Danielle can make a good living teaching dance in Lake Eden and it won’t end up on the books again.”

Hannah clamped her lips shut. She knew that Danielle could afford to run her studio at a loss, but Danielle’s finances were her own personal business.

“I just popped in for a minute. I’ve got a million things to do before Tracey gets out of preschool. You’re going to the dinner tonight, aren’t you?”

“What dinner?”

“At the lake cottage. We’re all invited. I wonder why Mother hasn’t called you yet.”

Hannah experienced a fleeting moment of relief. Perhaps Delores had forgotten. Then she wouldn’t have to put her diet to the test again tonight. But Delores never forgot things like that.

“She’ll call,” Hannah said, as certain of that as she was of the sun rising in the morning. “She’s probably nursing a sore ear from all those phone calls she’s been making about Rhonda.”

“I’m back.” Lisa came in from the kitchen with a smile on her face. “They’re having a ball down at Kiddie Korner. Janice really had a great idea involving the seniors. The kids don’t seem to notice that some of them have failing memories.”

“Kids that age are very accepting. If we could just get them to keep that attitude, it might be a kinder world.”

“You said it!” Lisa said with a sigh, but she immediately brightened. “Janice is talking about making this a regular thing. She said that if the seniors could spend one afternoon a week with them, it would be good for both groups.”

“I think she’s right. Some of Tracey’s classmates don’t have grandparents in the area. And the seniors have the same problem in reverse.”

Lisa moved behind the counter and began to make a fresh urn of coffee. “Did any new orders come in while I was gone?”

“Just one. Donna Lempke’s throwing a sweet-sixteen party for her daughter and she wanted to know if we could make ice cream sandwiches.”

“Can we?”

“I told her we could. Remember how soft the Pecan Chews got the last time we baked them?”

“I remember. They tasted great, though.”

“I think it was the humidity. It’s still just as humid, so I thought we’d bake another batch. We’ll sandwich vanilla ice cream between them, wrap them individually, and freeze them.”

“Let’s do half vanilla and half chocolate,” Lisa suggested. “Then people can choose.”

“That’s a good idea. If they turn out really well, we’ll add them to the summer cookie menu. In weather like this people might like something frozen.”