of spare cash. Hannah suspected the latter. Vera had once told Delores that her great-niece Lucy had been kicked out of college for being “wild”.
Lucy pulled out her notebook and flipped it to a blank page. “Tell me what happened last night. I’m doing the story.”
Hannah hesitated. She wasn’t about to let Lucy misquote her again. “You don’t need me to tell you anything. You were right there.”
For some reason that comment seemed to rattle Lucy because she set her coffee mug down on the counter with a thump. “I was where?”
“At the bake-off. I saw you talking to some of the contestants.”
Lucy rolled her eyes. “Don’t play dumb, Hannah. This isn’t about the bake-off.”
“It’s not?” Hannah assumed a perfectly innocent expression. “What is it then?”
“I talked Rod into running a banner headline, ‘Local Coach Murdered,’ and I need details about how you found Boyd Watson’s body.”
Hannah had all she could do not to groan. People would be upset enough as it was about the murder. Sensationalism would just add fuel to the panic flames. “What makes you think I was there?”
“One of my sources saw your truck. Give, Hannah. I really need to know.”
Hannah shook her head. “I can’t tell you, Lucy. It’s part of an ongoing sheriff’s department investigation.”
“Big deal.” Lucy waved away that concern. “How did he look? And what did Danielle say? That’s what people want to read about.”
“Then they’ll have to wait for an official press release.” Hannah stood firm. “If you want the details, you’ll have to drive out to the sheriff’s station and ask.”
“They won’t tell me anything. They never do. Come on, Hannah. I’ll let you read my story before it goes to press, and you can edit out anything you don’t like.”
Hannah didn’t believe it for a second, but that wasn’t the point. “I told you before, Lucy. I can’t say anything until the sheriff’s department okays it.”
“Then you’re working with them to solve the crime?”
Lucy scribbled something in her notebook and Hannah started to frown. “I didn’t say that!”
“But you had something to do with solving their last murder case, didn’t you?”
Hannah knew she was skating on thin ice. It was true that she’d helped Bill solve Ron LaSalle’s murder, but no one was supposed to know about that.
“Didn’t you?” Lucy repeated.
Lucy was zeroing in, and Hannah knew she had to say something. She settled for, “I didn’t do much, Lucy. I just passed on information that came my way. Any concerned, law-abiding citizen of Lake Eden would have done the same.”
“Oh, sure.” Lucy rolled her eyes. “Okay, if that’s the way you want to play it. Let’s get back to Coach Watson. Do you have any suspicions about who might have killed him? You were first on the scene, after all.”
“No.”
“No, you weren’t the first on the scene?” Lucy held her pen poised over the paper. “Or no, you don’t have any suspicions?”
“No to both.” Hannah salved her conscience by reasoning that she wasn’t exactly lying. Danielle had found Boyd, and that meant she hadn’t been the first on the scene. And she didn’t have any real suspects, at least not yet.
“How about Danielle? Did she have any reason to kill her husband?”
Hannah bit back a sharp retort about Lucy’s parentage. “I really don’t know, Lucy. And I certainly can’t speculate. You’re asking the wrong person. You should be talking to Bill or Mike Kingston.”
“I’d like to do more than talk to Mike Kingston.” Lucy reached up to fluff her short hair. “But I guess I shouldn’t be telling you that.”
Hannah gritted her teeth. Lucy was trying to goad her into slipping some information, and she refused to play that game. “Sorry, Lucy. I told you before, I can’t tell you a thing. As a matter of fact, I shouldn’t even be talking to you.”
“Does that mean you know more about the case than you can tell me?”
“No. It means I should be getting ready to open for business. You’re wasting your time, Lucy. And you’ve outstayed your welcome. That’ll be a dollar and a quarter for the cookies and coffee.”
“Catch me later. I’m in a hurry.” Lucy stood up and headed for the door. When she got there, she turned, and said, “Since you’re so uncooperative with a respected member of the Fourth Estate, I’ll just have to talk to Danielle!”
Hannah groaned as Lucy stormed out and slammed the door behind her. She reached for the phone, punched in Mike’s number at the sheriff’s station, and hoped that he’d come in early.
“Kingston.” Mike picked up on the third ring.
“It’s Hannah. I’m at the shop, and Lucy Richards just left. She tried to pump me for information about Boyd Watson’s murder.”
“That figures.” Mike chuckled. “She called Bill at home the minute the news broke on KCOW and didn’t get a very warm reception.”
“I’ll bet.” Hannah began to smile. “Bill’s a real bear in the morning.”
“Andrea answered. It’s her day off, and Bill was in the shower.”
“Uh-oh.” Hannah’s smile grew wider. Anyone who woke Andrea at six in the morning on her day off got an earful. “When Lucy left here, she said she was going to talk to Danielle. Is there any way you can keep her away?”
“No problem. Rick Murphy’s guarding her room, and I told him not to let anyone in.”
“Good.” Hannah was pleased for a moment, but then she realized the full implication of what Mike had said “Danielle can have some visitors, can’t she?”
“At this time, it’s not advisable.”
“For medical reasons?”
“No. She still has a bad cold, but Doc Knight said she’s not in any danger.” Mike was silent for a moment and then he sighed. “Look, Hannah. Like it or not, Danielle’s our prime suspect.”
“But even prisoners in jail can have visitors,” Hannah objected. “You’ve already taken Danielle’s statement, haven’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Then it’s not like anyone can influence her, or tell her what to say.”
There was silence for a moment, then Mike sighed. “That’s true.”
“Danielle’s not under arrest, is she?”
“No, not officially.”
“Then you should let me visit her.” Hannah marshaled her arguments. “She’s all alone, Mike, and she’s probably scared half out of her mind. It’s not right to keep her locked up and isolated from her friends when you haven’t officially charged her with anything.”
“Okay.”
“I can visit?”
“Yes, but just you. I’ll call Rick and tell him to let you in.”
Hannah drew a deep breath of relief. “Great! I’ll go this morning and take her some cookies.”
“Hannah?”
“Yes, Mike.”
“You’re just going as a friend, aren’t you?”
“Of course I am.”
“You haven’t decided to ignore my advice and get involved?”
“You should know better than that, Mike. I’d never ignore your advice.” Hannah answered him truthfully, not voicing the other half of her thoughts. I considered your advice for a long time last night, and I came to the conclusion that you were wrong and I was right. And since Danielle doesn’t have anyone else on her side, you bet your buns I’m getting involved!
