Hannah was surprised. “The one in the kitchen is a dummy, too?”
“Yes. The only camera that’s fully operational is the one by the front door. That’s why I knew that Rita was right about the time that the woman left.”
“You’ve got her on camera?” Hannah felt her spirits rise.
“Yes, but only from the back. The camera catches them when they come in, not when they leave. And she had a scarf on her head. There’s no way anyone could recognize her from that.”
“What color was the scarf?” Michelle asked.
“I don’t know. The surveillance camera shows everything in black and white and it’s a pretty grainy picture. We’re upgrading and putting in more cameras, but that won’t happen until next month.”
“So you didn’t notice her scarf when her coat was on the chair in the bar?”
“Actually . . .” Sally looked very excited. “I did! I just forgot all about it. It was dark red and dark green in a checkerboard design. I remember thinking that I should get something like that to wear during the Christmas season.”
“That’s helpful, Sally,” Hannah told her. “Thanks for the description. Ross made a copy of the footage from the competition and panned the audience a couple of times for their reactions to the judging. That footage is in color, and Michelle and I will fast-forward through it this afternoon to see if he caught the woman on camera. Brown hair, white sweater, and multicolored pearls . . . right?”
“And a dark green coat with a fur collar and the scarf Sally described,” Michelle reminded her. “Maybe she hung up her coat when she came in, but there’s always the possibility that she didn’t.”
“All right, girls. You’ve got everything I know.” Sally got up from her chair. “Call if you need anything else, okay? And good luck in the competition tonight!”
“I think we’ll be all right in the competition tonight,” Hannah said, taking the on-ramp to the highway.
“So do I. And if those cookies we baked weren’t in the back of the truck, I’d eat one right now. My stomach was growling like crazy when we were baking them. I had all I could do not to grab one when we packed them up to take home. The only thing that stopped me was I knew that if I had one, I’d eat two or three. And that would spoil my breakfast. We’re still stopping at the Corner Tavern, aren’t we?”
“Yes, we’re stopping,” Hannah told her, not mentioning that she’d sneaked two of the Butterscotch Sugar Cookies herself when Michelle wasn’t looking.
“They look crowded,” Michelle commented as they took the exit and pulled into the parking lot of the Corner Tavern.
“Yes, but it’s a big place. They can probably find room for us.”
“Look at that!” Michelle pointed to the parking spot in the front of the lot, very close to the entrance.
“I see it.” Hannah circled and pulled into the convenient parking space. “Come on, Michelle. It was a late night last night, and tonight will be a long night, too. I need coffee.”
“And protein,” Michelle added. “If we can’t get a table right away, let’s see if we can order coffee and a side of bacon while we’re waiting.”
“Hi, Hannah!” Nona Prentiss greeted them after they’d hung their coats in the cloak room and entered the restaurant through the inner door. She was the owner’s oldest daughter and, although she didn’t work in her father’s business on a regular basis, Nona always filled in at the hostess station when they were shorthanded.
“Hi, Nona,” Hannah greeted her. “It’s good to see you. You’re really crowded this morning.”
“Yes, we are. The hostess is taking a waitress shift and Dad called me in to help. He figures that everyone will come in for breakfast so they can hear the latest gossip about the murder.”
“You’re probably right,” Hannah agreed, reaching out to pet Albert, the stuffed grizzly bear that was mounted right next to the hostess station. Albert had gotten a makeover from the taxidermist, and now he was holding up well. Everyone in Lake Eden had contributed money for the endeavor, since most of them had petted Albert when they were kids and they wanted their children to enjoy him as much as they had.
“Are you okay, Michelle?” Nona asked her. “I heard you were the one who found him in Sally’s cooler.”
“I’m okay,” Michelle told her. “Right now, Hannah and I are just concentrating on getting ready for the competition tonight.”
“You really did great at the last one! Everybody in here thinks you’ll win again tonight. You two make a great team.”
“Thank you. That’s probably because Hannah taught me how to bake and we’ve been baking together for fun for years.”
Nona picked up two menus and smiled at them. “Just follow me. I’ll show you to your table.”