“Not exactly!”
Hannah heard the edge in Lily’s voice and she glanced at Mike. Something was going on here that she didn’t understand.
Lily gave a little sigh. “I should have just stayed up at the store. Sonny was in no shape to talk to me.”
“Hello, Lily,” Dick greeted her as he arrived at their table with a tray. “White wine for you?”
“Thanks, Dick, but not tonight,” Lily replied quickly. “I’ll have a big glass of iced tea if you have it.”
“I do and I’ll get it, but I brought this for you first.” Dick set the basket of crackers down in the center of the table and placed one of the miniature martini glasses that Sally had ordered in front of Lily. “I brought you one of the drinks I created for the fishing tournament.”
Lily glanced at the martini glass that Dick had set in front of her. She reached out to touch one of the olives on either side of the rim and began to smile. “Oh, Dick! How clever! It has Walleye eyes!”
“That’s right. And it’s a dirty vodka martini made with olive juice so it looks a bit like lake water.”
“Yes, it does.” Lily lifted the glass and took a sip. “And it’s delicious!”
“And very small,” Dick added. “A full-size Walleye Martini might been a bit much for some of the contestants, but Sally managed to find these small miniature glasses.”
“Perfect!” Lily declared, putting down the glass and taking a Goldfish cracker from the basket. “Bait fish?”
“Yes, but this is a no live bait tournament.”
Lily gave a little laugh. “Has anyone tried to put one of these crackers on the hook?”
“No, we just got them tonight. Hannah’s sister brought them from our grocery store in town.”
“Well, they’re a great addition to the atmosphere,” Lily said, taking a handful. “Plus, they’re delicious. I love Goldfish crackers.”
Hannah glanced at Mike and realized that he was frowning slightly. Dick must have realized it, too, because he backed away from the table. “I’ll get your iced tea,” he said, giving a little wave and turning to go. “I’ll talk to you later, Lily.”
Mike glanced at Hannah and realized that she didn’t have a drink. “Do you want a drink, Hannah?”
“No, thanks, Mike. I have a glass of wine already. I must have left it on Michelle’s table.”
“And here it is, Hannah,” Andrea said, arriving at the table and setting Hannah’s glass of wine down in front of her. “Michelle noticed that you were sitting down here and asked me to bring it to you.”
“Andrea?” Mike asked, gesturing toward one of the empty chairs at their table.
“No, but thanks, Mike,” Andrea said quickly. “One of Dick’s waitresses is on break so I’m taking her place.”
“So Michelle’s at the table all alone?” Hannah asked.
“No, one of the other teachers just walked in and she’s sitting with Michelle. I heard her tell Michelle that her husband is a contestant in the tournament.”
Hannah knew she was stuck here, watching Mike and Lonnie interrogate Lily. She mentally reminded herself that Mike and Lonnie were running their own investigation and that she had no right to interfere.
Mike looked at her and smiled. Perhaps she was wrong, but Hannah thought she knew what that smile meant. It was almost as if he’d said, You brought her here and she’s ours now. The ball’s in our court and we’ve got this handled without any help from you.
Hannah gave a little nod as she picked up her wineglass and took a sip. She wished that she could cue Mike and Lonnie in on what Rosa had told her, but there had been no opportunity to do that before Lily had entered the bar, spotted Sally, and come over to say hello.
“You said you were here last night?” Mike said, smiling at Lily.
“That’s right. I had some things I had to take care of before I could leave, so I didn’t get here until late. The bar was already closed and no one was around except the night clerk at the desk. I was about to ask for a key to my fiancé’s room when I saw Rosa. She took me upstairs and let me into Sonny’s suite.”
“Did you run into anyone else besides Rosa?” Lonnie asked.
“No. I think all the fishermen had gone to bed by then,” Lily replied. “There was no one else around.”
Hannah felt a little jolt of surprise. Lonnie was taking the lead and usually Mike controlled the whole interview. It was uncharacteristic, but perhaps the two detectives had worked it all out beforehand.
“Do you have any idea what time that was?” Lonnie followed up, and Hannah noticed that he had his small notebook and pen in his lap. She glanced at Mike, but Mike seemed to be perfectly comfortable with Lonnie’s line of questioning.
“I think it was after midnight, but I’m not really sure. I drove here from the Brainerd store and I know I left close to ten. I was helping them with their inventory and doing product coding. Our grand opening is tomorrow and we wanted everything in shape for that.”
“Did you call your fiancé to tell him that you were coming?” Lonnie asked her, and again Hannah was a bit disconcerted. Lonnie was definitely taking the lead and Mike didn’t seem to mind that at all.
“I called, but Sonny didn’t answer his cell phone,” Lily replied, glancing at Mike.
“How about Sonny?” Mike asked her. “Had he gone to bed yet?”
“You bet he had!” Lily said, and she gave an exasperated sigh. “And true to form, he was not alone!”
“Did you recognize the person who was with your fiancé?” Lonnie asked.
“Not until I saw her again tonight.” Lily looked over at the table where the blonde had been sitting. “I guess she must have recognized me, too, because she’s gone now.”
“What did you do when you found the other woman in Sonny’s room?” Lonnie asked.
Lily looked a bit embarrassed. “I’m not exactly proud of what I did, but I was so mad at Sonny, I’m afraid I took it out on her.”
“How did you take it out on her?” Lonnie questioned.
“I grabbed her by the arm and threw her out in the hallway. She was naked and I didn’t bother to pick up her clothes and throw them out after her. I just locked the door and stood there shaking. I was so furious at Sonny, I could have killed him!”
Hannah did her best not to wince visibly. She really wished that Lily hadn’t said it quite that way.
“What did Sonny say when you threw the other woman out?” Lonnie asked.
“Absolutely nothing. He was dead drunk, and he didn’t even wake up.”
“Did you try to wake him?” Mike asked, and Hannah was glad he’d asked the obvious question.
“No. When Sonny’s drunk, you could set off fireworks in his room and he’d sleep through it. And I knew, from experience, that if he’d actually been awake enough to listen to me, he would have forgotten everything I said, anyway.”
“So did you sleep there in your fiancé’s suite?”
“Yes. It was a two-bedroom suite so I just went in the other bedroom, got into bed, and tried to go to sleep.”