“That’s what I thought, so I didn’t ask. I guess it doesn’t bother Mike to keep murder victims company until other officers arrive.”
Hannah thought about that for a moment, but she didn’t comment. She wasn’t sure whether it bothered Mike or not. But deep down she suspected it was one of the parts of his job that Mike really didn’t like.
Chapter Nine
Once they got to the Inn, Hannah and Norman went straight to Doc’s office to tell him what had happened. Doc grabbed his bag, ushered them out of his temporary office, assured them that he knew exactly where the water lily garden was located, and hurried out to get his boat.
“Where to next?” Norman asked as they walked down the hallway.
“Let’s go see if we can find Dick. He may have seen Joey.”
They found Dick in the bar, restocking the shelves with bottles. Norman and Hannah pushed through the saloon-type doors and walked up to the long mahogany bar.
“Bar’s closed,” Dick told them apologetically.
“No problem,” Norman assured him. “We didn’t want a drink. Do you have a minute to talk to us, Dick?”
“I always have time for you two,” Dick said. “How about something nonalcoholic to wet your whistles?”
“An Arnold Palmer, if you can make it,” Norman said, pulling out a barstool and sitting down.
Dick nodded. “I’ve got it. I just made up a pitcher of lemonade and I’ve always got iced tea.” He turned to Hannah. “How about you?”
“I’ll have the same,” Hannah said, pulling out the barstool next to Norman and seating herself.
“What brings you so early? I thought you were out for the afternoon,” Dick asked them, once he’d poured their drinks.
Hannah and Norman exchanged glances. Mike had told them to tell Doc what had happened, but they hadn’t thought to ask about Dick.
Hannah considered that for a moment, and then she gave Norman a slight nod. They needed to get some information from Dick and that meant they had to share the reason they needed it.
Norman gave a nod back, and Hannah suspected he’d guessed what she was thinking. “Okay, Dick,” she said. “There’s a problem and I can tell you about it, but it can’t go any further than you.”
“How about Sally?” Dick asked. “Shall I call her to come here so the four of us can talk in private?”
“Good idea!” Norman said immediately. “Please do that, Dick.”
Hannah felt a bit uncomfortable. Would Mike be upset that they’d told Dick and Sally what had happened? She took a few moments to consider the possibility, and she decided that Dick and Sally had the right to know that one of their guests had been murdered. Mike had asked them to locate Joey, and they couldn’t search the whole hotel without giving Dick and Sally a reason.
It didn’t take long for Sally to arrive once Dick had called her. She came through the doors to the bar, looking extremely curious. “What are you two doing back here so early?” she asked, spotting Hannah and Norman at the bar.
“There’s a problem, Sally,” Norman told her.
“With one of the contestants?” Sally asked, beginning to look worried.
Hannah shook her head. “It’s Sonny. He’s . . .” She stopped and motioned to the barstool closest to her. “Sit down, Sally.”
Sally slid onto the barstool. “What about Sonny?” she asked. “Did he get into some sort of trouble again?”
“You could say that.” Hannah gave a quick nod. “It’s big trouble this time, Sally.”
“With another one of the contestants’ wives?” Sally guessed, giving an exasperated sigh. “We all saw what happened in the bar last night, and I’m really grateful that all of you were here. You saved us from a situation that could have gotten really bad.”
“That’s right,” Dick agreed. “You saved us from even bigger trouble. I hate to think of what would have happened if those two husbands had walked in and noticed what was going on before you defused the situation.”
“Wally warned me that Sonny got out of line when he drank too much,” Sally told them. “He really thought that having his daughter here would keep Sonny from acting up again.”
“I must be missing something,” Hannah said. “What does Wally’s daughter have to do with it?”
“Wally’s daughter, Lily, is Sonny’s fiancée,” Sally told them. “Wally thought that if anyone could calm Sonny down, it would be Lily. Wally knew he had to have someone to keep an eye on Sonny so he called Lily last night.”
Hannah’s mind went into warp speed. Had Lily been so upset with Sonny that she’d murdered him? It was definitely a possibility, and that made Lily a suspect right along with Joey. “Could we talk to Lily?” she asked.
Dick shook his head. “She’s not here anymore. I checked and the night desk clerk said that she left early this morning.”
“I didn’t know Sonny was engaged!” Hannah said, still surprised at that fact.
“He is, and that’s not in his publicity release,” Dick told them. “Sonny’s publicist thought that it might hurt his image.” Dick refilled their glasses and brought Sally a glass of lemonade. Once he’d done that, he turned to Hannah. “You haven’t told us about Sonny’s latest trouble yet.”
Hannah took a deep breath. She hated to be the one to deliver bad news, but it seemed to fall on her shoulders more often than it should have. She swallowed once, took another breath for courage, and then she said, “Sonny’s dead.”
“Dead?” Sally repeated, setting her lemonade glass down with a thump.
Dick’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Dead . . . how?” he asked. Hannah looked at Norman and gave him a slight nod. She’d delivered part of the shocking news, and now it was his turn.
“He was murdered,” Norman said. “At least that’s what Mike thinks. Doc is on his way out to Sonny’s boat right now to confirm that fact.”
Sally took a moment to compose herself. “Does Wally know?” she asked.
“No one here at the Inn knows except you, Dick, and Doc. Mike asked us to come back here to tell Doc and to have us try to locate Joey.”
“Joey?” Dick looked surprised. “You saw him this morning, didn’t you, Sally?”
“I did. It was early and he was getting ready to go out on the boat with Sonny when I ran into him in the lobby. He told me he was sorry that he was going to miss our great breakfast buffet, so I asked him if he wanted us to pack up some breakfast for them to take out on the lake. He said no, that he was in too much of a hurry and Sonny had already gone out to the boat.”
“What time was that?” Hannah asked her.
“I’m not completely sure, but it was well before dawn. The sky wasn’t even beginning to lighten yet and I’d just run out to the lobby with coffee for the desk clerk. Craig’s a college kid and he’s up all night, so I always bring him coffee.”
Hannah nodded. “It must have been before five, because I came down from the room a little before that. Andrea was still sleeping and I didn’t wake her. I just started making the day’s Caramel Pecan Rolls.”
“Did you see Joey get into the boat?” Norman asked Sally.
Sally shook her head. “No, it was too dark to see the dock from the window.”