Hannah smiled and hugged Michelle. They’d won! And then Brooke came racing over to hug both of them. That was when Michelle must have glanced up just in time to see a cameraman getting a shot of all three of them because she said, “Smiles! Quick! Link arms!”
And they did exactly as Michelle instructed so the cameraman could get a good shot of all three of them celebrating their first-place win.
Chapter Twenty-seven
“I’m all set,” Ross told them, sitting down with the remote control. “I think I’ve got something that’ll help.” He smiled as he started the taped interview. “What time did Doc say that Chef Duquesne was murdered?”
“Between midnight and three in the morning,” Hannah answered. They were sitting on her couch, all four of them. Ross was seated on one end, Hannah was in the middle next to him with Moishe in her lap, and Michelle was on the other end of the couch. They were sipping tall glasses of lemonade, and Moishe was eating a salmon-flavored, fish-shaped kitty treat.
“Between midnight and three,” Ross repeated. “Good! That’s what I remembered. Well . . . this interview should help to give Judge Stone an alibi.”
“She looks happy,” Michelle said when Helene Stone appeared on the screen.
“She was happy and relaxed,” Ross replied. “You’ll see why when I fast-forward through the opening questions.”
They watched the screen as the images sped by. Helene Stone moved only inches, but Ross had shot this footage in the lobby by the massive stone fireplace and the people in the background were moving at a speed that was humanly impossible under their own locomotion.
“Here we go,” Ross said, stopping the forward motion and turning up the volume. “Just listen to this next part.”
“Are you glad the competition is almost over?” Ross asked the next question of his interview subject.
“Actually, no,” Helene replied with a smile. “My husband surprised me by flying in two nights ago, and it’s beautiful and relaxing out here in the winter at this lovely inn. It’s been almost like a second honeymoon for us.”
“You said that he surprised you by coming here?” Ross followed up on her statement.
“Yes. I had no idea he was coming. He called me the afternoon of the cake challenge and told me he’d just landed at the airport, rented a car, and was about to drive here. He got here an hour before the competition was due to start. You probably saw him in the front row. Sally added a chair on the aisle for him.”
“Tall with dark brown hair and wearing a blue blazer and grey pants?” Ross asked her.
“That’s my husband. Both of us are staying for your wedding and the reception. I wish we could stay even longer, but we have to get back to New York the next day.”
Ross paused the tape and turned to them. “What do you think? Does that take her name off your suspect list?”
It took Hannah a moment to reply, and when she did, she worded her reply carefully. Ross was so proud of himself for getting the information about Helene Stone’s husband, and it was very helpful. “It’s certainly a factor, Ross. And it does make her a less likely suspect. Now all I have to do is check to make sure that both of them stayed in their room during the time when Chef Duquesne was murdered.”
“I’m way ahead of you,” Ross said with a smile. “I spoke with Sally right after I finished the interview and she checked with her staff. The college kid at the desk said they sat in the lobby by the fireplace until almost midnight and then they went up to their room. He can see the elevator from the desk and they got on together. That elevator didn’t come down again until some woman got off and rushed out the front door.”
Hannah glanced at Michelle and knew they were both thinking the same thing. The woman had been Aunt Nancy.
“One or both of them could have come down the stairs,” Hannah suggested.
“I asked about that, too. It’s possible, but it’s doubtful that one or both of them did that. You see, Helene’s husband stopped at the bar right before Dick closed it for the night and ordered a bottle of champagne. Dick offered to bring it up to their room after he closed the bar, and they took him up on his offer. He said he delivered it at twelve-thirty, opened it for them, and poured two glasses. Sally had some hors d’oeuvres left in the walk-in cooler so he brought up some of those, too.”
“And there was no one in the kitchen or the walk-in cooler at twelve-thirty?”