Hannah took a deep breath as she got off the elevator and walked down the hallway toward Dick’s bar. There was no doubt in her mind that Rosa loved Lily. But did Rosa love Lily enough to kill, to try to keep her baby from marrying the wrong man? It was a definite possibility, and she had to explore the time line. The first thing to do was find out what hours Rosa had worked on the day that Sonny was killed. She’d check with the desk clerk to get that answer. And if Rosa had been able to go out on the lake that day, she had to find out when and how Rosa had managed to find Sonny and get out to the area where he’d been assassinated.
Hannah opened her notebook, took out a pen, and made a couple of quick notes about her conversation with Rosa. She chose words that would jog her memory so that she could write it up later.
The elevator gave a ding, and Hannah closed her Murder Book and slipped her pen back into her purse. It was time to go meet Mike and convince him that she had to be there when he and Lonnie interviewed Lily.
Even though it was only one floor, the elevator seemed to take forever to get down to the lobby. At last it reached ground level and the doors opened. Hannah stepped off, intending to stop at the desk in the lobby to ask the day clerk a couple of questions, but there were several people lined up there. Since she was already running late, she decided she’d catch the desk clerk later and headed straight for Dick’s bar.
“Hi, Hannah,” Mike greeted her as she came in. “Here’s your lemonade. I was just about to call you to find out if you were coming down here.”
“Sorry I’m late, but I ran into Rosa and we discussed a few things,” she explained, sitting down in the chair Mike indicated and taking a big drink of her lemonade. “Thanks for pouring this, Mike. It’s really good.”
“I know. Dick makes the best lemonade. Did Michelle call you while you were upstairs?”
“No, why?”
“She wants all of us to meet her in the dining room tonight. It’s Lonnie’s birthday and she’s having a little party for him.”
Hannah was surprised. “I didn’t know that it was Lonnie’s birthday,” she said.
“Yes, and since he’s working out here with me, Michelle thought it would be nice for the family to get together here.”
“You’re invited, too, aren’t you?”
“Of course. Michelle said we should all meet in the dining room at seven.”
“Does Andrea know about it yet?”
Mike nodded. “Michelle called Andrea on her cell. She was on location, waiting for her client to arrive to see a house. Andrea said she’d call Norman and tell him about it.”
“It sounds like fun,” Hannah said, “but I didn’t know that it was a birthday party, so I don’t have a present for Lonnie.”
“Michelle doesn’t want presents. She says our company will be present enough for Lonnie.”
“But I feel bad about not having anything. If I’d known sooner, I would have gotten him something.”
“Michelle thought you’d say something like that, and she told me that if you wanted to do something, you should bake him some brownies.”
“The same kind I baked for you?” Hannah asked, remembering the time she’d given Mike Jalapeno Brownies by way of retaliation because she was angry with him. But her plans had backfired because he’d tasted them and loved them.
“You’d better bake regular brownies,” Mike told her. “I loved your Jalapeno Brownies, but they were too spicy for Lonnie. Lonnie loves chocolate.”
“Then I’ll bake my Double Fudge Brownies for him,” Hannah said quickly. “Do you happen to know if Lonnie likes nuts?”
Mike took a moment to think about that. “I don’t know about other nuts, but I know he’s wild about Macadamia nuts. His dad and Bridget went to Hawaii for their last vacation, and they brought some back. Lonnie told me that they were the best nuts he’d ever had.”
“I’ll see if Sally has any, and if she does I’ll throw them in.”
“That’ll be perfect,” Mike told her. “Will you bake some for the rest of us, too?”
“That’s no problem. Sally has an industrial oven and I can bake enough for everybody to have some.”
“Great!” Mike looked pleased. “You said you talked to Rosa. Did she tell you anything interesting?”
“Not really,” Hannah answered. “She did seem a bit worried about Lily and the fact that you were interviewing her again.”
“Did she think I was too hard on Lily during the last interview?”
“I don’t know for sure, but she wanted me to be there this time if that’s all right with you.”
“That’s more than all right!” Mike looked a bit relieved. “I was just about to ask you if you’d sit in for me.”
“For you?”
“Yeah. Lonnie’s going to do this one alone. I’ve given him the lead on this investigation, and it’s time he does some things without me.”
“Oh,” Hannah responded, mostly because she wasn’t sure what else to say. “When is Lonnie’s interview with Lily?”
“I’m not sure. Sally is clearing the conference room for them to use since the contestants will be coming from the nightly weigh-in and going to the bar for happy hour.”
“That makes sense. Will you be in the bar?”
“No, I have to run out to the station to complete some paperwork. That’s where Lonnie is now. We need to file all our notes before Bill gets back day after tomorrow.”
Hannah frowned. “I thought you didn’t have to submit your notes until after a case was closed.”
“That’s right . . . normally. But these are extenuating circumstances. And let me tell you, Hannah, I wish this case was closed right now!”
Hannah noticed the hard look on Mike’s face. “Are you . . .” She stopped speaking to choose her words carefully. “Are you uncertain about this case?”
“Uncertain?” Mike gave a rueful laugh as he repeated the word she’d used. “I’ve got to get off this case, Hannah. I don’t like what’s happening.”
“What is happening?” Hannah asked him.
“I’m not sure. It’s just that I can’t seem to get a handle on any of the suspects.”
“Really?” Hannah was shocked. She’d never heard Mike talk like this before. “You once told me that after you’d interviewed all the suspects, you had a pretty good idea about who was guilty and who was innocent. Isn’t that happening with this case?”
“No. It’s different this time.” Mike gave a little shrug. “I really don’t care who’s guilty and who’s not. I just want to make somebody confess so the case is closed.”
Hannah was puzzled. “But . . . you always said it was about having justice for the victim.”
“I don’t care enough this time to work effectively. And I’ve always worked effectively. I just want to intimidate someone into confessing so I don’t have to think about this case any longer.”
“I . . . I’m not sure what to say,” Hannah admitted.
“It’s like this, Hannah . . . I became a cop because I wanted to help people. I wanted to fight for justice for the victims, and make sure that whoever was guilty was punished. I always had empathy for people. I wanted to clear the suspects, to make sure they could go back to their lives. And I wanted to find the guilty person and make sure to lock him or her up to pay for their crime. You know me. And you know all that, don’t you?”
“Yes, Mike. I do know that.”