“Why yes, the Corona is. And . . . Let me see.”
“That’s okay, Florence. All I need is one. It’s for a recipe.”
Florence looked interested. “What kind of recipe uses a pale lager?”
“A recipe for beer muffins that Norman gave me.”
“Interesting! If they turn out to be good, will you give me the recipe?”
“Of course.”
“Thanks, Hannah. Now, for the wine, I’d suggest a dry white with a hint of a fruit finish.”
Hannah half-listened as Florence described the characteristics of various wines. She already had a jug of white wine from CostMart in her refrigerator, the kind she called Chateau Screwtop, but she’d buy a bottle from Florence, just to be nice.
As Florence continued to extoll the virtues of the wines she carried, Hannah realized that she’d learned a lot by simply coming to the Red Owl grocery today. If you weren’t in a hurry, and you stood in an aisle long enough and listened to the conversations that were all around you, you might overhear an important clue. She would call this phenomenon the “unseen shopper trick.” It was almost as good as the invisible waitress trick, when Hannah and Lisa walked around The Cookie Jar, refilling coffee cups, and their customers didn’t seem to notice that they were there and went right on talking about private matters.
If only Michelle were here! Hannah thought as she accepted the wine that Florence had chosen for her and stood in the checkout line. Tricia and Michelle had stayed in touch, and Hannah’s youngest sister would be the perfect person to elicit information from Tricia about exactly what she’d seen and heard in Tori’s condo on the night of the murder. But Michelle was back at Macalester College and she wouldn’t be back in Lake Eden until Thanksgiving vacation.
*
As Hannah climbed up the outside staircase to her second-floor condo, she noticed that the living room window was open slightly. That was odd. She was almost certain she’d closed it this morning when she’d left for work, and Ross had left even earlier than she had.
Had someone broken into her condo? Should she call Mike or Bill? Hannah considered it for a moment and then shrugged off the idea. If someone had broken into her condo through the window, the window would be broken, or it would, at least, have been opened wide enough to admit a human body. A burglar certainly wouldn’t have taken the time to replace the screen, and since Moishe didn’t have opposable thumbs and couldn’t open the window, either Ross had come home in the middle of the day and opened it, or she had left it open this morning.
As she approached the vicinity of the open window, a delicious aroma floated out to greet her. Chocolate. It just had to be melted chocolate. She was sure of it. And under the heady chocolate aroma was a hint of chicken and onions from the Chicken Stroganoff she’d started in the crockpot this morning. How very strange! It was almost as if someone was inside her condo, working in her kitchen, making something for dessert!
“Rrrowww!”
Hannah started to smile as she heard Moishe yowl inside the condo. He must have spotted her coming up the stairs. It didn’t sound like a frightened or anxious yowl, so she stopped worrying about intruders or break-ins.
When she reached the landing, she pulled out her keys and was just moving forward to unlock the door when it opened and Moishe jumped out, nearly knocking her over.
“Sorry!” a familiar voice said. “I should have warned you that I was going to open the door. I hope you don’t mind, but I used the key you gave me and came right in.”
It was Michelle and Hannah began to smile. “Of course I don’t mind. That’s why I gave you the key in the first place. When did you get here?”
“About an hour and a half ago. I had Lonnie drop me off here and I hope that’s all right. I can stay with Mother and Doc if you don’t want company.”
Hannah stared at her youngest sister in surprise. “Why wouldn’t I want company?”
“I told you last night. You just got married and I thought you might want to be alone with Ross.”
“Don’t be silly. We have a guest room and you’re a perfect guest. You’re more than welcome to stay with us.”
“That’s great, but . . . maybe you’d better check with Ross to make sure he feels the same way? Mother and Doc have all sorts of empty bedrooms and I really don’t want to cause any problems.”
Hannah thought about that for a moment. “I’m sure Ross will want you to stay with us, but if it makes you feel better, I’ll call him to make sure. What are you doing here in Lake Eden? I thought you weren’t coming home until Thanksgiving break.”
“I wasn’t, but my one-act was a smash hit with the audience and with my professor, too. He was so pleased, he gave me permission to come back and direct the Lake Eden Players. They’ve only got a couple of weeks before they open their Thanksgiving play and with Tori gone, they’re going to need someone to direct them.”
Hannah began to smile. “I think I see Mother’s fine touch in that idea. Am I right?”
“You’re right. Mother called my professor and asked him if I could come back here to direct the Thanksgiving play for the Lake Eden Players. He checked with the college and he called me a couple of hours ago to tell me that I could get independent study credit if I wanted to do it.”
Hannah reached out to hug her sister. “That’s just wonderful, Michelle. I’m sure you’ll do a really good job.”
“That’s not all.” Michelle gave a smug smile. “From what I’ve heard about Tori’s abrasiveness from a couple of my friends in the Lake Eden Players, there are bound to be suspects in the group.”
Hannah laughed. “So you want to be my mole by directing the Lake Eden Players?”
“Don’t call me a mole. Dad showed me one once, and they’re ugly with those big feet and those tiny little eyes. I prefer to think of myself as an undercover agent. I know that I’m a good director, Hannah. I promise you that I’ll do a good job with their play.”