“The guys at the station will go crazy over these. And . . . oh! I forgot to tell you. Your mother called while you were in the shower.”
Uh-oh! Hannah’s mind shouted a warning. If I know Mother, and I do, she’s going to think the worst! Hannah was almost afraid to ask, but she had to know for purposes of damage control. “Did you tell her why I couldn’t come to the phone?”
“Sure. I said you’d just gone to the bedroom to take a shower. And I told her you’d given me coffee and pumpkin scones for breakfast. I promised her that I’d tell you she called and that you’d call her later, after you got dressed and everything.”
Hannah came close to groaning out loud, but Mike had no idea the size of the can of worms he’d opened. She had to call her mother right after he left and attempt to explain.
“That’s okay, isn’t it?” Mike asked her.
“Oh, yes,” Hannah hurried to reassure him. He had no idea the ramifications his words could cause. “I’ll call her back just as soon as you leave.”
Several nervous minutes later, Hannah was punching her mother’s number into the phone. It rang only once before Delores answered.
“Hannah? What’s going on there anyway? Mike answered your phone and told me that you were in the shower. And then he said that you’d given him breakfast! You’re a married woman, Hannah! What was Mike doing at your place for breakfast? And why did you take a shower while he was there?”
Hannah came close to laughing out loud. Her mother clucked and scolded like a biddy hen. “It’s okay, Mother. Ross sent me some footage he’d shot in New York and I was here, waiting for the FedEx to arrive. Mike dropped by The Cookie Jar, Michelle told him I was at home, waiting for a package from Ross, and Mike came over so I took advantage of him.”
“You what?!” Delores sounded even more like a hen in distress and Hannah laughed.
“Sorry, Mother. I shouldn’t have used that particular word. I didn’t have time for a shower earlier because I thought I might not hear the doorbell with the water running. I asked Mike if he’d stay in the living room while I took a quick shower and get the package if it came in.”
“Oh.” Delores sounded slightly relieved. “But I don’t understand why you asked him to stay if your package from Ross had already arrived.”
“Because I thought there might be some kind of a clue that would lead us to Tori’s killer. And if Mike watched it with me, two sets of eyes would have to be better than one.”
“Oh.” Finally, Delores sounded completely relieved. “Tell me, dear . . . did you discover any clues?”
“Maybe, but we’re not sure yet. We’re both working on it, though.” Hannah didn’t want to go into detail, so she changed the subject. “Did you find any good judges for the pie eating contest, Mother?”
“Yes, I did!” Delores sounded very pleased with herself. “I called Bill and he agreed to be one of the judges. I thought having the sheriff on the judging panel would prove that the contest was legitimate.”
“Good thinking, Mother. Did you get anyone else?”
“Of course. Ken Purvis was delighted to be asked. He agreed to be a judge the moment I asked him. You do know what that means, don’t you, dear?”
“We get the high school crowd?” Hannah guessed, since Ken Purvis was the Jordan High principal.
“That’s right. But my third judge is the icing on the cake.”
“It’s pie, Mother.”
Delores sighed so heavily, Hannah could hear it on the phone. “I didn’t mean it that way, Hannah!”
“I know,” Hannah said quickly. “It was just a little joke. Who’s the third judge, Mother?”
“Stephanie Bascomb. I invited her over yesterday afternoon and asked her if she’d be a judge. And once I’d told her how very important it was and how everyone would love to see her in that exalted position, she agreed to take part. She’s even going to act completely shocked when she sees pie on her husband’s face.”
“You told her it was going to be televised on KCOW?” Hannah guessed.
“Of course. It was a selling point, dear. And Stephanie ran with it, thanks to my persuasive rhetoric.”
Her mother was waiting for praise and Hannah wasted no time in giving it to her. “Thank you, Mother. You did a superlative job choosing the judges. They’re just perfect.”
“Of course they are, dear. I’m very good at this sort of thing, you know.”
After several more compliments to her mother’s intelligence, wisdom, and social awareness, Hannah managed to end the conversation. She hung up and spotted their local paper on her dining room table. Mike must have heard it arrive and brought it in for her.
Hannah glanced at the first page and gave a little gasp of surprise. There was a gorgeous photo of a slice of her Banana Cream Pie with the caption, Hannah’s Banana Cream Pie. The first line of the article below it, all in caps, read EVER WISH YOU COULD EAT THE WHOLE PIE?
The article below it started off with a bang.
Three locals from Lake Eden will get the chance to do just that in a timed pie eating contest on Saturday at 1:00 PM at the Jordan High auditorium. Tickets are available now and there will be a bake sale to benefit the Lake Eden Players right after the contest. One of the judges is Stephanie Bascomb, who told me she’s bringing baby wipes with her in case the mayor, who’s one of the contestants, gets pie on his face!
The article went on to name the local businesses that were selling tickets. Hannah stopped reading and reached for the phone. She had to call Rod at the newspaper office.
“Hi, Hannah,” Rod greeted her once she’d identified herself. “What did you think of the article?”
“It’s brilliant, Rod! Thank you for the great article!”
“Don’t thank me. Your mother wrote the copy. And it certainly did the trick. Rose McDermott called me a few minutes ago from the café and said that they sold over fifty tickets this morning.”
“That’s fantastic!”