Cinnamon Roll Murder

Chapter Eleven

“What did Mike say when he saw Mother’s envelope from the hospital?” Andrea asked, turning on the access road that led to the Lake Eden Inn.

“What’s this?”

“It’s the access road for the Inn. Weren’t you paying attention?”

“I was, and I wasn’t asking you what this road was. I was repeating what Mike said. He saw the envelope with the autopsy report and he asked “What’s this?”

“Did you have to lie to him?”

“Not me. Mother answered Mike’s question, and she managed not to lie either. She said it was something Doc wrote, and she brought it with her to read later.”

“Smart.”

“It certainly was. Mother’s a master at skirting the truth.”

“That’s true, but Mike’s a detective. He was trained to be suspicious.”

“I know. I think he probably guessed what it was.”

“But then why didn’t he follow up?”

“Because he didn’t want to know for sure. If he’d known for sure, he would have had to take it. He told me a long time ago that only authorized people are allowed to have access to autopsy reports.”

Andrea gave a loud sigh. “That means Mike knows we’re investigating. And he’s going to read you the riot act about it.”

“No, he won’t. I think he knows it won’t do any good.”

Andrea chuckled. “Well, he’s right. Telling you not to investigate is like telling the wind not to blow.

They were very close to the Inn now. Hannah could see it through the trees. She expected Andrea to drive past the front and turn down the road that led to the parking lot, but she drove behind the building and parked her Volvo in a spot clearly marked for deliveries.

“You can’t park here,” Hannah said. “It’s just for deliveries.”

“I’m delivering you. You don’t want to walk all the way from the parking lot in those ratty blankets, do you?”

“No. They’re not very warm. Are you going to drop me off and drive down to the parking lot by yourself?”

Andrea didn’t say a word. All she did was shut off the motor and reach for the handle to open the driver’s door.

“Sally’s going to be mad if she gets a delivery and this spot isn’t clear.”

“No, she’s not. While you were looking for your parka, I called Sally on my cell phone and asked her if I could park here. Now hurry and shrug off those awful blankets. There’s no way I’m walking into the Inn with someone who looks like a street person!”

Hannah sighed heavily and shrugged off the blankets she’d taken from the back of her cookie truck. “I just don’t understand what happened to my parka,” she said as Andrea opened the back door and they stepped inside, into the warmth. “I looked all over and it’s just not there.”

“Are you sure you wore it?”

“Of course I wore it. It was cold this morning.”

“Then maybe somebody took it?”

“Who?”

Andrea shrugged. “A thief opened the back door when you were using the mixer? When he saw that your back was turned, he grabbed it and ran off with it?”

“Why mine, when there were better jackets hanging there? Mine was really old. And that tear in the sleeve was already there when I got it from the thrift store. I still say it’s there somewhere. It just has to be.”

“We’ll look again later,” Andrea promised, leading the way to the lobby and crossing it to the cloakroom so that she could hang up her coat.

“Nice outfit,” Hannah said once Andrea’s coat was off and hanging on the rack. “It’s a good color on you.”

“Thanks.” Andrea turned around in a circle so that Hannah could see that the embroidered border of pink roses on the jacket of her wine-colored pantsuit went all the way around the bottom. “Who did you want to talk to first?”

“I’ll talk to Sally first to get her impression of the band.”

“That’s a good idea. Let’s see if she’s in her office.”

When they got to Sally’s office just off the kitchen, she was on the phone. Hannah and Andrea sat down in the chairs facing her desk and waited for her to end her conversation.

“They just walked in. Hold on a second and I’ll ask her.” Sally turned to Hannah. “Did you find your parka yet?”

“No.”

“No, she didn’t,” Sally said into the phone. She listened for a moment and then she smiled. “I’m sure she’d appreciate it. Come right out.”

Hannah waited until Sally had hung up the phone before she spoke. “That was Lisa, she found my parka, and she’s bringing it out to me?”

“No, no, and yes. It was your mother, she didn’t find your parka, but she bought you a new one and she’s bringing it out to you because she’s afraid you’ll catch a cold.”

“You don’t catch a cold from the cold,” Andrea said. “I heard that on television last night. You have to be exposed to some kind of virus.”

Sally nodded. “I heard that, too. It was on the medical segment of the KCOW Evening News.” She turned to Hannah. “Andrea told me you girls were investing the hospital murder last night. I’m guessing you’re here to talk to the band. Am I right?”

“You’re right.”

“Who do you want to talk to first?”

“You,” Hannah said, pulling out her steno notebook and turning to a fresh page. “Tell me your impression of the band.”

“Together as a group, or individually?”

“Individually.”

“Shall I include the newest band member?”

“There’s a new band member?”

“Yes. They held an audition, and they found a new keyboard player. He’ll be playing with them at the show tonight. I saw Eric in the hall right after the audition and he said the new guy was even better than Buddy.”

“Is it someone local?” Andrea asked.

“It certainly is!”

Sally gave a smile that reminded Hannah of one of the phrases Delores used in her Regency Romance books. She looked like the cat that got into the cream pot. “Who did they hire?” Hannah asked, unable to stand the suspense any longer.

“Devin Murphy. Bridget called me a little while ago and made a reservation for ten. The whole Murphy clan is coming out here tonight to hear him.”

“That’s just wonderful!” Hannah turned to Andrea. “You’d better call Michelle to let her know. She’s going to be very excited. And will you ask her to call Lisa and tell her that the band is going to play tonight? Her dad and Marge want to come out here for dinner and stay to hear them.”

“Sure.” Andrea pulled out her cell phone and got up from her chair. “I’ll call from the lobby. The reception’s better out there.”

“The band certainly moved fast,” Hannah commented.

“I’ll say! But that’s not surprising. Lee told me they’ve been looking for a replacement keyboard player.”

“Buddy Neiman was leaving the band?”

“That’s right. He gave notice the day after Dick and I heard them in Minneapolis. They were so good, we booked them to headline our jazz festival.”

“Did Buddy give any reason for leaving?”

“Not specifically. He told Lee he wanted to get out of the Minneapolis area for personal reasons, and he refused to discuss them. He wanted to leave right away, but Lee talked him into giving them two months to find another keyboard player.”

“How long ago did you hear them play in Minneapolis?”

“Give me a minute and I can tell you exactly.” Sally flipped pages on her date book and then she looked up. “Here it is. We went to Club Nineteen on the second Saturday in February.”

Hannah calculated quickly. “So Buddy was leaving the band right after they played here?”

“That’s when the notice Buddy gave Lee was up. So, yes. Unless Buddy reconsidered and he hadn’t told Lee yet, he was leaving the band right after they finished our gig.”

Hannah scribbled a few notes, and then she flipped to a fresh page in her notebook. It was time to move on to another subject. “I know they’ve been here for less than a day, but will you give me your impressions of the band members so far?”

“Of course,” Sally agreed quickly. “For what it’s worth, I like Tommy the best.”

“Tommy Asch,” Hannah said and waited until Sally nodded. “Why do you like him best?”

“He seems the most genuine, and he doesn’t have an oversize ego like Karl does.”

“Karl’s too full of himself?” Hannah used an expression that was common in Lake Eden.

“I’ll say! That young man thinks he’s Art Blakey and Max Roach all rolled into one, and he doesn’t have one tenth the talent they did.”

Hannah understood. She knew a bit about the legendary jazz drummers. “What do you think of Tommy’s wife?”

“Annie’s as sweet as they come. She told me she helped the bus driver rescue the puppy.” Sally stopped and looked slightly worried. “She also told me that you took him. How’s that working out?”

“It couldn’t be working better. Lisa adopted him.”

“That’s perfect! The last time she was out here with Herb, she told me that Dillon needed a companion dog.”

Hannah glanced down at her sheet again. “How about Conrad Bergen?”

“Connie’s okay, and he’s going to be very popular out here. He’s so handsome, he’ll have plenty of the Lake Eden girls trying to pick him up. I know a couple of my younger waitresses tried last night, but that didn’t work. Lynnette stuck out her claws and ran them off.”

“Let’s talk about Lynnette.”

“That girl is big trouble. Last night she was hanging all over Connie, but this morning she switched her attention to Karl. I was there at rehearsal, and there was some heavy tension going on between Connie and Karl. Lynnette seemed to enjoy setting the two of them against each other. She’s an instigator, pure and simple.”

Sally stopped speaking, and her eyes seemed to focus at a point just above Hannah’s head. She gave a little nod, and then she made a thumbs-up gesture.

Hannah stared at her, thoroughly mystified. “What does that mean?”

“It means I approve.”

“You approve of the fact that Lynnette is an instigator?”

“No!” Sally gave a little laugh. “Did you forget that the window behind you looks out on the kitchen?”

“I forgot all about that window. Did someone show you something?”

“Yes. It was a Pucker Up Lemon Cake, and it looked just wonderful. They have to check with me before I’ll let them put it on the dessert cart.”

Hannah made a note to try the cake the next time she came out to the Inn for dinner. Then she got back to business. “Let’s talk about Eric. What do you think of him?”

“I didn’t really get any strong impression of him. He’s not sinfully good looking like Connie, but he’s not bad looking, and my waitresses seem to like him. A couple of them told me he was really funny. I know he cracks jokes during their performances, and I don’t think they’re rehearsed. He’s just really quick on his feet.”

“How about Drake?” Hannah asked, since Sally hadn’t mentioned him.

“I’m not sure. Drake seems to be a nice boy, and I know he’s the youngest member of the band. He’s talented, and he seems very serious about his music. He’d be a handsome guy if he lost a little weight, but I don’t think he really cares that he doesn’t get very much female attention. I don’t know if that’s because he discourages it, or because he’s totally focused on the music.”

“Lee’s next. Tell me about him.”

Sally’s eyes narrowed, and she frowned slightly. “I don’t like him,” she said.

“That sounded pretty definite for a first impression.”

“It wasn’t a first impression. I dealt with him when Dick and I booked the band. He’s very cold and businesslike, and I’m almost sure he’s got money.”

“From managing the band?”

“Maybe, but I don’t think they’ve hit it big enough for that. My guess is that Lee has another source of income.”

“An illegal source?”

“I wouldn’t put it past him. I don’t think Cammy would be that interested in waiting on him hand and foot, and doing the other things she does for him if money weren’t involved. He’s really not very nice to her, you know.”

“I didn’t know. Give me an example of what you mean.”

“She said something last night about the bus driver and how awful she felt that he was dead, that he was almost like a father to her. I was bartending and I heard the whole thing. It was plain that she was grieving, but Lee just told her to shut up and stop bellyaching about it.”

“That’s cold.”

“You bet. And the surprising thing is, she did exactly what he told her to do. She put on a smile and didn’t mention the bus driver at all for the rest of the night. Lee’s got some sort of control over her. I’m just not sure what it is.”

Hannah jotted a few more notes, and then she stood up. “Thanks, Sally. You’ve been a big help. Can I get a list of the band’s room numbers?”

“Of course. I’ll call Ruth Ann at the desk and tell her to print out a list for you. Just don’t leave without poking your noses in the kitchen. I’ve got something I want you to taste.”

It was beginning to snow again by the time Hannah finished questioning Lynnette, Cammy, and the band members. She’d learned only one more thing of interest during these interviews, and it was that Buddy had told Lynnette that if she was very nice to him, he’d send for her when he got settled in a new place. Lynnette hadn’t fallen for that old line. She’d told Hannah that she’d heard the same thing before from other guys, but the moment they’d left town, they’d forgotten all about her.

“We’ll go talk to Lee now,” Hannah said to Andrea as they walked down the hall toward Lee’s room. “I need to find out more about the day that Buddy gave notice to Lee. Everybody in the band seemed to think he was happy playing with them. And they didn’t understand why he wanted to leave.”

“And we’ll go home after we talk to Lee?”

“No, we’ll go back and find Sally. She said she wanted us to taste something before we left.”

“Oh, good! When Sally says that, it’s always something wonderful.”

The two sisters walked down the hall toward Lee’s room. “What took you so long with that phone call to Lisa?” Hannah asked her.

“I called home and checked on the kids.”

Hannah waited a moment, but Andrea didn’t go on. “And?” she asked.

“The kids are fine. I told Grandma McCann I was with you out here, but she could reach me on my cell phone if she needed me. And after that, I called Bill to see if he was planning to be home for dinner. He’s not. They’re calling in pizza and having a strategy meeting about Clayton Wallace.”

“The results of Doc Knight’s second blood test came back?” Hannah guessed.

“That’s right. It was the same as the first one Doc ran. And he talked to Clayton’s doctor to see what dosage he’d prescribed.”

“Twice his normal dosage?”

“No. Three times his normal dosage. He was taking two other medications and the one pill for his heart. That’s three pills every evening. Add two more heart pills to that total, and Clayton must have taken five pills. Think about it, Hannah. Wouldn’t you realize that something was wrong if you shook your pills out into your hand and there were five instead of just three?”

“Normally ... yes. I’d notice. But what if it was dark and you were driving a bus at the time? You might shake out your pills and just swallow them. If highway conditions were bad, you’d probably want to keep your eyes on the road.”

“You’re right. It could have happened that way. And if Clayton was the one who filled his own pill matrix and he put three heart pills in one of the little compartments by mistake, it’s accidental death, not murder.”

“That’s true. But on the other hand, maybe somebody redistributed that heart medication in his pill matrix on purpose.”

“I get it. The killer sets Clayton up with three times his normal dosage and hopes Clayton will take it without noticing.”

“Right. And that’s murder.”

“Okay. But what if ...” Andrea stopped speaking and gave a frustrated sigh. “I’m getting confused.”

“You’re not alone. Quite frankly, I think we should leave the whole question of how Clayton died to the professionals.”

“You mean you don’t care?” Andrea sounded shocked.

“Not at all. I mean that we don’t have all the resources the sheriff’s department has, and we can only do so much. I really think we should concentrate on Buddy’s murder.”

“Because we know it’s a murder?”

“That’s part of it. I’d like to solve both cases. You know that. But Mother found Buddy’s body. And Buddy was somebody Michelle and I both knew personally. Not only that, we were all right there at the hospital when it happened. That gives us more of a personal stake in finding his killer.”

Andrea thought it over for a moment. “You’re right. Let’s solve Buddy’s murder first. And then, if we have time and they haven’t wrapped it up yet, we can work on figuring out what happened to Clayton.”