Chapter Twenty-Eight
“No dialogue, no story, no lights, no music,” Hannah said with a sigh. “No wonder these tapes are so boring.”
“You forgot no action,” Norman reminded her, his finger on the fast-forward button. They’d watched the first third of the tape, and so far the Snack Shack was in shadows and absolutely nothing had happened. “There’s nobody in there to…whoa!” He stopped as the door opened and the lights clicked on. “Here we go! It’s show time!”
“It’s Ronni,” Hannah identified the blonde who walked to the far end of the room and took several small bottles from behind the counter. “And that’s diet green tea. This must be when she starts drinking Green-Teanis.”
Michelle looked puzzled. “I wonder why she didn’t change out of her exercise outfit for the party.”
“Maybe she didn’t have anything tighter,” Hannah offered her opinion.
“That wasn’t nice!” Andrea chided her.
“Maybe not, but I bet you were thinking the same thing.”
A shade of pink very much resembling the pink of the pillow shams in Hannah’s guest room started to appear at Andrea’s neckline. It moved slowly up to the top of her cheeks, and Andrea gave a guilty sigh. “You’re right,” she said. “I was.”
“Here comes the rest of the party,” Norman said, pointing at the screen. “Mike’s got your cream puffs, Hannah.”
Hannah watched Mike come in, carrying her tray of cream puffs. She noticed that he’d stuck a candle into each puff, but the platter was covered with plastic wrap. He set it behind the counter, where no one could see it, and gave Ronni a big kiss on the lips that lasted a lot longer than Hannah wanted it to. Then the partygoers began to file in, and Mike took a proprietary place at Ronni’s side with his arm around her waist.
“Mike’s acting like the host,” Andrea said, and then she glanced over at Hannah. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
“Why not? It’s true.”
“Yes, but…oh look! There’s Mayor Bascomb!” Andrea sounded grateful that something else had come up on the screen.
Before much more time had passed, the room was filled with people. Someone had contributed a case of beer, and others drank soft drinks or concoctions from the blender that one of the sheriff’s deputies was manning behind the counter.
“Lonnie,” Michelle breathed, and Hannah turned to glance at her youngest sister. Michelle looked worried, and Hannah wondered if she feared that Lonnie would give the birthday girl the same kind of greeting that Mike had. But instead of heading over to greet Ronni, he gave a little wave in her general direction and got himself a beer from the case at the end of the counter. Then he started talking to a couple of other deputies who were there, and Hannah saw Michelle visibly relax.
“No women,” Norman said after another few minutes of watching.
Hannah turned to look at him. “You’re right! It’s all men.”
“Maybe that’s because she worked at the sheriff’s department, and it’s mostly men out there,” Michelle suggested.
“Are you kidding?” Hannah just laughed. “There are a couple of women deputies, not to mention quite a few secretaries.”
“Maybe she invited them and they didn’t come,” Norman suggested. But after a look from the three Swensen sisters, he gave up on that excuse.
“There’s Tad,” Michelle said, pointing at the man who’d just walked in the door. “Just look at that gorgeous bouquet of flowers! Would a stalker bring his victim flowers?”
“It does seem unusual,” Hannah said, thinking of what Tad’s nephew had confided to the class at Kiddie Korner and wondering if it was relevant.
“What is she doing?” Michelle’s mouth fell open as she watched the screen. “Ronni won’t even take them! She’s pointing to the door, and…”
“Tad’s leaving with the flowers,” Andrea said, just as shocked as Michelle. “And he looks really embarrassed. She must have said something mean to him.”
“Look at her now. She’s laughing,” Norman said, and his brows knit together in a disapproving frown.
“She’s laughing at him,” Hannah said.
“I can’t help but feel sorry for him.” Michelle looked sympathetic. “Those flowers must have cost him a bundle.”
“He looks like he’s ready to break down in tears,” Andrea commented as the security guard passed by the camera. “I wonder what Ronni said to him.”
Hannah motioned to Norman. “Can you put it on pause?” And then she turned to Michelle. “Find out.”
“Find out what Ronni said to him?”
“Right. Lonnie was there. He must have heard it. Call him, and we’ll wait.”
It took only a few moments to get the answer, and when they did, they could scarcely believe their ears. “She actually called him a little toad?” Hannah asked.
“That’s right. Lonnie repeated her words exactly. She said, Get out of here you little toad! I wouldn’t invite you to my birthday party if you were the last man on earth.”
“That’s really harsh,” Norman said, shaking his head. “No wonder he looked so dejected.”
They watched for another few minutes, but it was more of the same. And then Mike lifted Ronni up on the counter and she said something to the crowd that had them applauding. Everyone began gathering up glasses, bottles, and snacks. Mike went behind the counter to get the platter of cream puffs, and in less than two minutes the room was vacant and the lights were off again.
“They moved the party to the Jacuzzi,” Hannah said, knowing she was right. “And that’s all we’re going to see on this tape.”
Norman fast-forwarded to the end just in case someone had left something and come back to get it, but the lights stayed off and the Snack Shack remained vacant. He rewound the tape, returned it to the sleeve, and shrugged. “That was a waste of time.”
“Not for me,” Michelle said, and Hannah knew she was thinking about how honest Lonnie had been in his account of the party and how completely unromantic he’d been around Ronni.
“Not for me, either,” Hannah said for exactly the opposite reason.
“What now?” Andrea said, after Michelle and Norman had left. Michelle was meeting Lonnie at the hospital to visit with Rick’s wife, and then they were going out for pizza. Norman had promised Carrie and Delores he’d drop by Granny’s Attic to help them move some heavy antiques. They would meet up later at The Corner Tavern for dinner, and they had a reservation at seven.
Hannah glanced at her watch. “It’s only three. We’ve got four hours until dinner.”
“I know. I’m thinking about running out to Heavenly Bodies and catching up on my exercises. I didn’t go this morning.”
“Neither did I, but you know that already. You discussed it with Norman last night.”
Andrea looked a little nervous. “I hope you don’t mind, but it was for your own good. I was really worried you’d fall asleep on the drive home. I hope you stayed over…unless he drove you home, of course.”
“Yes.”
“Yes, what?”
“I didn’t drive home alone last night.”
“So Norman took you home? Or you stayed with him?”
“Yes.”
Andrea stamped her foot so hard Hannah was almost afraid she’d poke a hole in the ceiling of Phil and Sue’s downstairs unit.
“Which! I want to know which!”
Hannah took pity on her sister. Andrea looked ready to fall on the floor and start beating her fists on the rug in frustration. “I stayed with Norman.”
“Oh. Well…good.” There was a moment of silence, and then Andrea spoke again. “I don’t suppose you’re going to tell me anything about it. I mean, where you slept and…and things like that?”
“No.”
“Oh, well.” Andrea sighed deeply. “I didn’t figure you would. So do you want to follow me out to the mall and finish our exercise routines for the day?”
“Sure. It beats mopping the floor and watching it dry.”
They parked right next to each other at the back door. Andrea got out of her Volvo first, and she was standing at the entrance with her hands on her hips when Hannah joined her.
“Well! If that doesn’t beat all!” she exclaimed, clearly frustrated. “My key doesn’t work, and the sign says they’re closed.”
Hannah stepped closer to read the sign. The outer door to Heavenly Bodies was closed, and the sign said they wouldn’t reopen until six o’clock tomorrow morning. “Does that mean we get to drive to Bertanelli’s for a pizza instead?” she asked, only half-joking.
“Not if you want to fit into your dress for Mother’s party. Let’s go in the mall and see what happened.”
There weren’t very many people shopping. The mall was practically deserted. When they approached the security station, they saw Frank sitting behind the desk at the front. “Hi, ladies,” he said.
“Hi, Frank.” Hannah took the lead. “We were hoping that you or Tad would be working. We’ve got a question.”
“Tad doesn’t come on until seven tonight, but I’d be happy to answer your question. Is it about Miss Ward’s murder?”
Andrea shook her head. “It’s about Heavenly Bodies. Do you know why it’s closed?”
“Sure do. They closed at noon because there was a problem with the thermostat. It’s fixed now. The industrial heating and air-conditioning guys just left.”
“Can we go in and do our exercises?” Andrea asked. “Hannah and I missed class this morning.”
Frank shrugged. “I don’t see why not. I’ll activate the locks for you. It might be pretty cold in some of the rooms, but you can always hop in the Jacuzzi if you get chilled.”
“Thanks, but no thanks!” Hannah shivered slightly. “The Jacuzzi is where Ronni was killed. I’m not overly superstitious, but I don’t really want to get in there again.”
“I can understand that. As a matter of fact, most of the other members feel the same way. That’s why the owner replaced the hot tub with a new one. He even took out the old bar and bar stools and replaced them with other furniture. The only thing that hasn’t been changed is the wallpaper, and they’ll probably get around to that one of these days.”
“They redecorated so fast?” It was clear that Andrea was impressed.
“That’s right. The owner said it was a shame that nobody was using it, and he wanted to change the whole look. Instead of all that latticework, it’s a thatched hut, now, with wooden shutters that fold down to make tables on the inside. Wait until you see it. It’s really nice.”
After Frank had let them into the gym, Hannah and Andrea stashed their coats in the dressing room and went straight to the exercise room they thought of as their own. Andrea chose to start with the cross-country ski simulator, and Hannah began her routine on the machine she called the Walk to Nowhere.
Ten minutes passed, and they switched to other equipment. Hannah was amazed at how much easier it was getting. At first she’d had trouble even using the machines. She’d forget which foot to push and which handle to pull. Now it was like second nature. If this was an example of the muscle memory the fitness gurus talked about, she was in favor of it!
Fifteen minutes into their routines, Hannah noticed that Andrea was shivering. It was cold in the exercise room, and even though they were moving, the chill seemed to seep through their skin and into their muscles and bones.
“Jacuzzi?” Hannah asked.
“Yes! I’m freezing!”
They hopped off the machines and walked at a fast clip to the recently renovated gazebo. Frank was right. The latticework frame was gone, and in its place was a thatched hut with open space for windows.
“Nice,” Andrea said, climbing up the stairs and stepping inside. “I think this is an improvement.”
Hannah was right behind her, and she was surprised at the amount of work that had been done. The area was completely different, and even the hot tub was a different configuration, octagonal instead of round.
Andrea reached down to feel the water. “It’s hot,” she said, smiling in anticipation. “I’m getting in. How about you?”
“I’m right behind you.”
It didn’t take long to slip out of the loose pants they’d worn over their leotards. The leotards could double as bathing suits, and that was one of the reasons they’d bought them. Andrea stepped in first and gave a sigh of pleasure. “It’s perfect. Turn on the jets before you get in, will you, Hannah?”
Hannah turned on the jets and joined her sister in the tub. There was nothing quite as nice as sinking into a tub of swirling, bubbling, heated water when you were shivering with cold. “Heaven,” she declared, sinking down until only her head was above the surface of the water.
The two sisters sat there smiling for several minutes, thinking their own thoughts and luxuriating in the warmth. Then reality intruded in the form of Andrea’s cell phone.
“Uh-oh,” Andrea groaned, clambering out of the tub. “I have to get that. Bill said he’d call.”
Hannah leaned back against one of the molded backrests built into the tub and half-listened as Andrea talked to her husband. It was obvious that Andrea was pleased about something. She was using words like wonderful, and marvelous, and fantastic as she listened to Bill talk. When she came back to the hot tub, she was smiling from ear to ear. “Bill’s got an alibi, and he’s back on the case. Isn’t that great?”
“It certainly is!” Hannah was just as delighted as Andrea and every bit as relieved that her brother-in-law was in the clear.
“Bill’s been doing a little legwork, going back to all the places he went on the night Ronni was murdered,” Andrea explained. “Three different people gave him alibis at three different times. That means there’s no way Bill could have driven out to the mall, killed Ronni, and still been at those places at those times.”
“Good for him for tracking them down,” Hannah complimented her brother-in-law.
“Anyway, he’s coming home early, and he wants to take me out for dinner to celebrate. I told him I’d be home in thirty minutes, so I’d better go get dressed. I hope you don’t mind that I won’t be having dinner with you and Norman.”
“Of course not.” Hannah wasn’t at all disappointed. She liked her times alone with Norman.
“Are you going to leave now, too?”
“I’ll get dressed and see how I feel. I might do that final ten minutes on the cross-country ski machine.”
Hannah got out of the Jacuzzi, wrapped a towel around her shoulders, and followed Andrea to the dressing room.
The first thing Andrea did when they got there was to pull her cell phone from her purse and plug it into one of the wall sockets at the mirrored dressing table. “Don’t let me forget it,” she said to Hannah.
“You’re charging it while you dress?”
“Yes. It’s got a built-in high-speed charger so I can do it anywhere. That’s one of the features I love about this phone. I don’t think it holds a charge very well, though.”
“Really?” Hannah opened her locker and took out the sweatpants and hooded sweatshirt she kept there.
“There was a lot of interference when Bill called, and that happens sometimes when the battery’s low. I’ll let it charge up while I dress and see if it’s better when I’m ready to go.”
Both sisters toweled off with the large bath towels the spa provided and began to dress. Andrea put on the clothes she’d worn on the drive out, and Hannah pulled on her sweatpants and hooded sweatshirt.
“Don’t forget your cell phone,” Hannah reminded Andrea.
“Thanks!” Andrea unplugged it and flipped it open. She dialed a number and listened for a minute, and then she nodded. “It’s fine now. No interference at all.”
“Who did you call? You didn’t say anything.”
“I called the number for time of day. I didn’t want to get involved in a long conversation.” Andrea dropped her cell phone in her purse, picked up her winter jacket, and headed for the door. “Are you leaving or staying?”
“I’m staying.” Hannah grabbed her purse and her parka and followed her sister out of the dressing room. “I’ll still have lots of time to drive home and dress for dinner with Norman.”
“I’ll touch base with you tonight, then,” Andrea said, giving a little wave and heading for the exit. But she took only a couple of steps before she turned and came back again. “Here,” she said, drawing a plastic bag from her purse. “I almost forget to give it to you. I got one for Michelle, and Lisa, and Norman too. Now we can all have roses in the winter.”
Hannah glanced inside the bag and smiled. Andrea had given her a red plastic rose with a very long stem. “For my antenna?” she asked, remembering their conversation about Andrea’s flower on the antenna of her Volvo.
“That’s right. There’s a wire in the stem so you can just wind it around your antenna and it’ll stay there. And because it’s plastic, it won’t get ruined by the snow and ice.”
“This is really sweet of you, Andrea,” Hannah said, and she meant it. Andrea had cared enough to shop for the roses and give them to Norman, Lisa, and her sisters. For someone who’d been extremely self-centered a few years ago, Andrea had turned into a thoughtful and caring person.
After Andrea had left, Hannah glanced down at the rose in her hand. Instead of shoving it into her purse where it might not see the light of day for several weeks, she put it, plastic bag and all, in the horizontal patch pocket on the front of her sweatshirt, the one that could be used as a hand warmer. She’d keep it there while she finished her workout routine and put it on her antenna when she got back out to the parking lot.