Strawberry Shortcake Murder (25 page)

“It’s Lucy Richards. She’s in her car and she’s dead.”

“You’re sure?”

“I’m positive. Get Bill and come with me. I’ll show you.”

The garage had a light with a pull string. Hannah reached up to turn it on, but she stopped before her fingers could touch the cord. “Should I touch this? There could be fingerprints.”

“Go ahead. We can’t get fingerprints from that.” Mike motioned for her to pull it. “Did you touch anything else before you found Lucy?”

“The side of the car and the garage handle, but Andrea and I were both wearing gloves. That’s it.”

“How about the handle on the passenger’s door?” Bill asked.

“I didn’t open it. I just looked through the window with my flashlight. It was… uh… pretty obvious that she was dead.”

“How about Andrea?” Bill looked concerned. “Was she with you when you found Lucy?”

“Yes, but she didn’t see anything. I snapped off my flashlight and told her to go back to my truck and call you. I said that Lucy was dead, but that’s all she knows.”

Bill looked relieved, and he gave her a hug. “Thanks, Hannah.”

“You can go back to your truck, but don’t leave.” Mike took her hand and squeezed it. “We’ll talk to you later.”

She’d been dismissed and Hannah was glad. She really didn’t want to view Lucy’s body again. Lucy Richards had been shot in the back of the head, execution style, and the sight wasn’t pleasant. Hannah took a couple of deep breaths of the frigid night air to clear her head. It smelled like pine needles and aromatic wood. Someone must have a fire in their fireplace. Then she climbed back into her truck.

Andrea turned to Hannah as she slid in under the wheel. “Is Bill really mad at me?”

“No. He even thanked me for keeping you for seeing Lucy.”

“Oh, good.” Andrea gave a sigh of relief. “What did they ask you?”

“They wanted to know if we’d touched anything. That was about it. They’re coming back here to talk to us later.”

“Are we going to tell them that we were in Lucy’s apartment?”

“Yes, but only the second time. Vera knows we were there, and there’s no reason to lie about it. It’ll explain why we looked in Lucy’s garage.”

“It will?”

“I’ll say we could tell that someone had broken in and were worried about Lucy, since no one had seen her all day. We came out to the garage to see if her car was gone.”

“Okay, but why didn’t we tell Vera about the break-in?”

“We figured she’d get hysterical, and we didn’t know, for sure, that anything bad had happened to Lucy. We were going to go back inside later, when we knew more about what had happened.”

Andrea still looked apprehensive. “And we won’t have to tell them about breaking in this morning?”

“Not unless they ask us directly, and it’s in an official capacity.”

“Good. Are you going to show them the pictures of the murder?”

“I think I have to,” Hannah answered, and her voice was grim. “Those pictures could be the reason why Lucy was killed.”

“But how are you going to explain how you got Lucy’s film?”

Hannah dropped her head in her hands. Andrea was asking too many questions. “I’ll think of something when the time comes. Hand me a couple of those Cocoa Snaps, Andrea. I really need a lift. And take a couple for yourself. If your mouth is full, you won’t ask so many pesky questions.”

The two sisters munched in silence. After a few minutes, Hannah began to feel better. She was more alert, her mind seemed clearer, and she was ready for more questions.

“Okay, Andrea.” Hannah turned to her sister. “Shoot.”

“Shoot what?”

“Ask me all those questions you wanted to ask before.”

“Are you sure?” Andrea’s brows knit in a worried frown. “You said my questions were pesky.”

“They were, but I’ve recovered.”

“From what?”

“A chocolate deficiency. You wanted to know what I was going to say when Bill and Mike asked how I got Lucy’s film?”

“Yes.”

“I’m not going to go into details. I’m just going to say I ran across the film this morning, and I asked Norman to develop it for me.”

“But they’ll want to know where you found it.”

Hannah shook her head. “No, they won’t. When they see the prints and realize that they’re pictures of Boyd Watson’s murder, they won’t look a gift horse in the mouth. It’s like this, Andrea. If Bill and Mike knew we did something illegal to get that film, it can’t be used as evidence against the killer. But if they don’t know, they can use it.”

“I get it. But will Bill and Mike be smart enough to figure that out?”

“I’ll give them a big hint.” Hannah glanced out the windshield and spotted Mike and Bill coming out of the garage. “Here they come. Open the glove compartment and hand me the pictures of Boyd’s murder. They’re in a separate envelope.”

“You don’t want all of them?”

“No. Leave the other ones there. And try to pretend you’re still too upset to talk much and take your lead from me.”

Andrea opened the glove compartment and handed her the murder pictures. Hannah had just stashed them in her parka pocket when Bill walked over to the passenger door and pulled it open. He hugged Andrea with one arm, and asked, “Are you all right, honey?”

“I… I think so. I just feel kind of… of shaky.”

Hannah breathed a sigh of relief. Andrea was trembling again, even though, a second earlier, she’d been as calm as could be. It was too bad she couldn’t nominate her sister for an Academy Award. Andrea deserved it.

“Hannah?” Mike opened Hannah’s door. “I need to ask you some questions.”

“Okay.” It was a good thing she didn’t have to pretend to be too rattled to answer. Andrea was a much better actress than she was. “Your place, or mine?”

Mike grinned at that, but his grin faded fast. Murder was serious business. “Come back to the cruiser. It’s a lot warmer than your truck. Aren’t you ever going to get that heater fixed?”

“It’s fixed. It’s just not very efficient.” Hannah got out of the Suburban and motioned to Andrea. There was no way she was going to take the chance that her sister would confide in Bill if she left them alone in the truck. “Come on, Andrea. We’re all going back to the cruiser to warm up and spill our guts.”

The moment Mike opened the back door of the cruiser, Hannah shoved Andrea in and followed on her heels. Bill and Mike had no choice but to get in the front, and that was the way Hannah had wanted it. Since her sister was in the back with her, it would give Hannah the opportunity to nudge Andrea if she really started to spill her guts.

Mike turned around in his seat to look at Hannah. “You knew Lucy. Why do you think she was murdered?”

“I don’t know,” Hannah answered quite truthfully. She didn’t know. All she had was an educated guess.

“How about you?” Bill asked Andrea. “Can you think of anyone who had a reason to kill Lucy?”

“I… I’m not sure. Maybe. You tell them, Hannah.”

“She’s talking about the person who ransacked Lucy’s apartment,” Hannah rescued her sister. “We just came from there. All the drawers were pulled out, and everything was dumped on the floor. It looks like somebody broke in to search for something. That’s why we came out to the garage. We wanted to see if Lucy’s car was gone.”

Bill’s eyes narrowed, and Hannah knew he was remembering the night they’d broken into Max Turner’s house. “How did you get into Lucy’s apartment? Or shouldn’t I ask?”

“You can ask,” Hannah answered quickly, before Andrea could even think of opening her mouth. “Vera Olsen gave us her key.”

Bill looked confused as he turned back to Andrea. “But why did you go up to Lucy’s apartment?”

“Because we hadn’t seen her all day. I even asked you if you’d seen her, remember? And… and we were worried about her.”

“You told me you wanted to ask Lucy about the pictures she took of Tracey.”

“I did.” Andrea shivered slightly. Hannah knew she had to be acting because the heater of the county cruiser was running full-blast and the backseat was on the warmer side of toasty. “At least that’s the way it started out. And Hannah needed to talk to her, too.”

“Why did you need to talk to Lucy?” Mike asked Hannah.

Hannah seized the opportunity and ran with it. She knew she’d never have a better chance. “I wanted to ask her about my suspicions.”

“What suspicions?”

“Suspicions about Boyd Watson’s murder. But a trained professional like you wouldn’t be interested in anything I just happened to stumble across, would he?”

Mike winced, and Hannah knew her barb had hit its mark. He’d remembered the words he’d used when he’d warned her not to meddle in his case.

“Maybe I shouldn’t have been quite so hard on you,” Mike admitted. “Would it help if I offered to eat my words?”

“Not really.” Hannah shook her head. When a person like Mike ate his words, it was recycling. She’d just hear them again, in a slightly different form.

“Come on, Hannah.” Mike reached back to pt her arm. “I really need your help on this. Can’t you just forget what I said and tell me what you know?”

Hannah knew that it was about as close to an apology as she’d get and decided to accept it. “All right. But how about if I show you instead of telling you?”

“Show me? Did you stumb…” Mike cut himself off, and it took him a moment to rephrase what he’d been about to say. “Did you uncover some evidence?”

Mike was learning, and Hannah decided to reward him. She handed him the three prints of Boyd’s murder. She’d see what he thought before she gave him Norman’s blowup of the killer’s cuff link. “I don’t know if it’s evidence or not, but it could be the reason Lucy was murdered. Take a look and see.”

Mike snapped on the dome light, Bill slid over for a closer look, and they examined the photos together. Then Mike asked, “Did Lucy take these pictures?”

“They were taken with her camera.” Hannah repeated what Norman had told her. “I don’t know the exact time, but I’ve narrowed it down to between Wednesday at five and Thursday morning at daybreak.”

“Do you think they’re pictures of Boyd Watson’s murder?”

“Definitely.”

Bill looked doubtful. “It’s not exactly definite. The time frame fits, but they’re so dark, it’s impossible to tell for sure.”

“That’s right,” Mike agreed. “They’d never stand up in court, Hannah. If you have the negatives, our photographer might be able to lighten them up.”

“He can’t.” Hannah shook her head. “This is as good as it gets, Mike. Norman developed the film for me, and he’s great in the darkroom. Your guy can try, but he won’t be able to do any better.”

Bill’s eyes narrowed. “Wait a minute. When did Norman have time to develop this film?”

“This morning. It was right after I found it. That’s all you want to know.”

“You gave Lucy’s film to Norman Rhodes?” Mike sounded shocked.

“That’s right. I didn’t know what was on it, and I knew you’d ask a lot of questions if I brought it out to the station. It was easier to take it to Norman.”

“But how did you manage to…” Bill stopped himself, just in time. “Do we want to know how you found Lucy’s film?”

“No. That’s not important.”

Bill looked a little nervous about her answer, but he didn’t press it. “An you think that Lucy shot this film?”

“I’m ninety-nine percent sure, but I didn’t find her in time to ask her. This is just a hunch because I’m not a…”

“Trained professional,” Mike interrupted her before she could use that particular phrase again.

“That’s right. Do you want to know my theory?” Both men nodded, and Mike leaned closer, over the back of his seat. Hannah felt vindicated. He’d progressed from warning her not to meddle to valuing her opinion in the space of a few minutes. “I think that Lucy was there in the alley on the night that Boyd was murdered. She saw the whole thing and took those pictures. They’re dark because she didn’t dare use her flash.”

“That makes sense,” Mike said. “And you think the killer discovered that Lucy took pictures of him?”

“Of course. That’s why she ended up dead. Lucy knew who he was, and he had to get rid of her before she could talk.”

“Do you know when Lucy was killed?” Bill asked.

“I can only guess.”

“Guess.” Mike flashed her a smile. “So far, you’re the best guesser we’ve got.”

That made Hannah feel good, and she smiled back. “Dick Laughlin told me that Lucy left the inn last night at midnight. And she didn’t keep her seven o’clock dental appointment with Norman this morning.”

“So it was between midnight and seven?”

“That’s my best guess. Lucy didn’t call to cancel, and Norman said she’d never been late before. I’ve got to assume that she was already dead by that time.”

“Okay.” Mike took out his notebook and jotted down the times. “Maybe Doc Knight can narrow it down even more than that. Let’s think about the logistics for a minute. Boyd’s killer murdered Lucy between midnight and seven, then he went up to her apartment to search for the film she took?”

Hannah nudged Andrea to keep her silent. There was no way she wanted to admit that they’d been in Lucy’s apartment at seven this morning. “That’s not quite right. I think he killed her and fled the scene. Maybe one of Lucy’s neighbors turned on a light or something and he panicked. He came back later to search for the film.”

“How do you know he didn’t kill Lucy and go right up to her apartment to…” Mike stopped as Bill gave him a nudge. “I shouldn’t ask?”

“That’s right. You’ll just have to take my opinion on it, Mike.”

Mike looked as if he wanted to press her for details, but he managed to curb his curiosity. “Okay. Do you know when the killer came back to look for the film?”

“After seven-forty-five this morning and…” Hannah turned to Andrea. “What time did Vera give us her key?”

“Nine. I looked at my watch right before we went up the stairs.”

“I just thought of something.” Bill looked alarmed as he turned to Hannah. “Is there any way the killer could know that you’ve got Lucy’s film? I mean, if Lucy said anything before he killed her, you could be in big trouble!”

“Relax, Bill.” Hannah smiled to reassure him. “The killer doesn’t know that I have it.”

“You’re sure?” Mike sounded equally worried.