“Yes. Heiti is a wonderful listener. He’s totally nonjudgmental and he really cares about people. He’s just a wonderful, talented, intelligent person.”
Hannah drew a deep breath. She hated to ask the next question, but someone had to find out the extent of Aunt Nancy’s relationship with Heiti and whether Heiti could have been so angry with Chef Duquesne’s treatment of Aunt Nancy that he’d decided to take revenge. “It sounds like you’re very fond of Heiti,” she said with a smile.
“Oh, I am!”
“Are you fond enough of him that you think you could grow to love him?”
“Well, I don’t know about that, but . . .” Aunt Nancy paused and then she nodded. “You’re right, Hannah. I think, perhaps, that I could grow to love him. I look forward to spending time with him because he’s such a remarkably fascinating man.”
“Tell us about him,” Michelle said.
“I’m not sure where to start. Heiti worked for years at an aerospace company as an engineer. He was their troubleshooter. Sometimes they sent him to other aerospace companies as their expert. He was very well paid and he never married or had a family, so he saved most of his money and invested it. He did so well with his investments that he could afford to take early retirement when he was fifty.”
“That’s really wonderful!” Hannah said, wondering if she’d ever be able to retire. “What did he do then?”
“He moved back home to help his parents until they decided that they wanted to go into a senior living complex in Florida. He helped them sell their house and move there. And that’s when Heiti decided that he wanted to do all the things he’d never had the time or the energy to do while he was working for the aerospace company.”
“Things like tole painting?” Michelle asked.
“Yes. And designing gadgets to make people’s lives easier. He’s working on something right now, but he won’t tell me what it is until he builds it and tests it to see if it’ll work.”
“He really sounds like an interesting man,” Michelle commented.
“Yes, he does,” Hannah added. “I can understand why you’re so intrigued by him. And it sounds as if he enjoys spending time with you. Do you think that Heiti’s interested in you romantically?”
As Hannah watched, Aunt Nancy’s cheeks turned pink, and it took her a moment to respond. “I . . . I don’t know, Hannah. He may be, although he’s never said so to me.” She paused again, and took a deep breath. “In a way, I hope he is interested in me romantically. Heiti would make a wonderful companion, and I think we could be very happy together.”
“Did Heiti seem as upset as you were when you told him about what Chef Duquesne had done?” Hannah asked.
“Oh, yes! He was very upset! He said that somebody ought to teach that man the proper way to treat a lady like me, and . . .” Aunt Nancy stopped speaking in midsentence and her eyes widened. “Oh, dear!” she gasped. “Surely you don’t think that Heiti could have driven out to the Lake Eden Inn and . . . and . . .”
Hannah knew that she was walking on eggshells. It was clear that Aunt Nancy was horrified by the notion that Heiti might have had anything to do with Chef Duquesne’s murder. She had to reassure Aunt Nancy and keep her from alerting Heiti until after they had time to question him.
“Of course we don’t think Heiti had anything to do with it,” she said, reaching out to pat Aunt Nancy’s shoulder. “I was just exploring the possibilities. He doesn’t sound like a man who would do anything like that.”
It was time to change the subject, and Hannah decided on another tack. “Did you know that Sally waited on you when you were in the bar?”
“No, but I remember what you said about the housekeeper telling her boss that I was upset when I left. Is Sally her boss?
“Yes, she is. Sally is also the head chef and co-owner of the Lake Eden Inn with her husband, Dick. Dick was behind the bar the night you were there.”
“I liked Sally. She was nice. I didn’t meet Dick because we sat at a table.”
“Right. Now, let me tell you something that you may really like about Sally. Did you know that Chef Duquesne slipped a twenty-dollar bill to Sally after the second round of drinks and asked her to put vodka in your hot lemonade?”
Aunt Nancy looked completely shocked. “No!”
“Well, he did. And of course, Sally would never do that!”
“And Sally didn’t put anything except hot lemonade in your drink,” Michelle picked up that part of the story. “Sally would never do anything like that. She told us that you looked like the kind of lady who would have ordered vodka if you’d wanted it and she wasn’t about to pour anything for you that you hadn’t ordered yourself.”