“Don’t forget to Miranda her and then take her down to the station. Lock her up, and book her for the homicide of Victoria Bascomb. She can cool her heels in a cell until I get there.” Mike turned to Hannah and held out a hand to help her up from the floor. “Let’s lock up and I’ll walk you to your truck.”
Hannah’s whole body felt like jelly and she wondered if she could drive. She’d been terribly frightened and the physical reaction to that was setting in.
Mike realized that Hannah’s legs were trembling, and he slipped his arm around her to support her. “You’re in no shape to drive, Hannah. Leave your truck here and I’ll take you home.”
For once, Hannah didn’t argue. She just watched Mike lock the doors to the auditorium, then she leaned on him as he walked her outside. Their breath came out in frosty puffs, and the cold night sky was filled with stars.
Hannah took a big gulp of the cold, night air, letting it out slowly. She was beginning to feel less shaky, but she still wasn’t sure she could drive.
“Give me your keys,” Mike said. “I’ll have a couple of the deputies deliver your truck later.”
Hannah leaned against Mike’s squad car as he took her keys to Rick and gave him instructions. She wished that she could be magically and instantaneously transported home where Ross would be waiting for her. There was nothing she wanted more than to have Ross take her into his arms and hug her.
There was a flash which lit up the night, and Hannah realized that Rod must still be in the parking lot, and he was taking photos. Then there was another flash, as Rick helped Vivian into the back seat of the cruiser.
“No, no, no!” Vivian shouted at Rod. “Full face, yes. That’s fine. But my profile can only be taken from the left. Do I look all right?”
Rod hesitated for a split second and Hannah knew he was wondering if Vivian’s mind had become unhinged.
Then he said, “You look just fine, Vivian.”
“Good! Then I’m ready for my close-up, Mr. Metcalf.”
Chapter Twenty-six
“Ross is home,” Hannah said, smiling as Mike pulled into her parking spot and she saw that Ross’s car was parked right next to it.
“Good. You shouldn’t be alone. I’ll just walk you in, make sure everything’s all right, and then I’ll come back to take your statement in the morning.”
“That’s fine with me. And Michelle will probably have something for your breakfast. She’s fixed something special every morning since she’s been staying with us.”
“You feel better, don’t you, Hannah?”
“Yes, I do.” Hannah said. She did feel better now that she was home. “You don’t have to come up, Mike. I’ll be okay, now that Ross is here.”
“I’ll come up, but I won’t stay,” Mike said, as he walked around the cruiser to open Hannah’s door. “Ross is going to ask you a bunch of questions and I want to assure him that you’re not hurt and everything’s okay.”
“That’s nice of you,” Hannah said with a smile, getting out of the cruiser and walking toward the steps that led up to ground level.
“I can be nice on occasion,” Mike said.
Hannah gave a little laugh. “Yes, you can be. Thanks for everything, Mike. I really don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t come in when you did.”
“We’ll talk about that tomorrow. Come on, Hannah. Can you make it up the outside stairway by yourself? Or do you want me to help you? Your legs are still shaking.”
“I know, but I can make it.” Hannah began to climb the staircase. It was true that her legs were still shaking slightly, but she managed with a good grip on the railing. Normally, she wouldn’t have held the railing at all, but she was still just a bit weak in the knees and she didn’t want to fall on her way to the landing.
“Here’s my door key,” Hannah told Mike when they reached the landing, pulling it out of her purse. “You unlock it and I’ll catch Moishe.”
“No problem. I’ll unlock it, and I’ll catch Moishe. He’s too much for you to handle right now.”
Mike inserted the key in the lock, but the door inched open before he could turn the key. “Whoa,” he said, turning back to Hannah. “Stay right here.”
“What’s wrong?” Hannah felt her heart begin to pound at a rapid pace again.
“I don’t know. Maybe Ross just didn’t close it all the way and it failed to latch, but I’m going in to check it out anyway. Don’t come in until I tell you it’s clear, Hannah. And if I’m not back here in five minutes, go down to the garage and call the station. You got that?”
“I got it, Mike.” Hannah leaned against the rail of the landing because her legs had begun to shake again.
“I need a promise, Hannah.”
“I promise. Just go in, Mike. I’m getting really nervous.” Hannah shivered and attempted to tell herself that it was because it was cold outside, but she didn’t really believe it. Had someone broken in? Was Ross all right? How about Moishe? He’d always hurtled out the door to greet her before. Had someone hurt Moishe?!
Hannah stood there in the cold night air, clutching her cell phone in her hand and watching the seconds tick off on the display. One minute went by, much slower than it ever had before. Two minutes seemed to take an eon, and three minutes made her wonder if the clock on her phone was broken. She began to pace back and forth on the landing to keep her legs from locking in place. The four-minute mark finally came, and that was when the door opened.
“Come in, Hannah,” Mike said, taking her arm.
“Ross is here, and everything’s okay?” Hannah asked quickly.
“I don’t know.”
“What do you mean, you don’t know?”
“I mean Ross isn’t here. He was, but he’s not now. Does Norman have Moishe at his house?”
“No! Not unless Ross took him there for some reason. But why would he do that? And why isn’t Ross here?”
“You’d better come in and sit down, Hannah.” Mike took her hand and pulled her inside. And then he hugged her tightly.
Something was wrong and it had to be bad. Mike looked almost as upset as she was.