that?”
“The one he got right after he came home for lunch. I was making him tomato soup in the microwave. He likes… liked that.”
Danielle’s lip started to quiver as she changed the verb to past tense, and Hannah knew she’d better distract her. “Let’s get back to Boyd’s phone call. Who called him?”
“I don’t know. He didn’t tell me.”
“But you knew he got a phone call?”
“Yes. Boyd was in the living room, waiting for me to bring him his lunch, and I answered the phone in the kitchen. It was a woman, and she asked for Boyd, so I called out for him to pick up the extension.”
“You didn’t recognize her voice?”
“No. it wasn’t anyone I ever talked to before. I’m sure of that. But I know it was a local call.”
“How do you know that?” Hannah asked.
“It was noon, and I heard the town clock strike one.”
“You heard the clock strike one?”
“Boyd was complaining about it the other day. It’s still set for daylight saving’s time because Freddy Sawyer was sick with the flue when it was time to turn it back. You know spring forward, fall back?”
“I know.”
“Well, nobody else wanted to climb up there on the ladder, and it was a week before Freddy got back to work. Nobody seemed to notice the clock was off, and they hadn’t had any complaints, so they just decided to leave it until next spring.”
“That figures.” Hannah was amused. There were times when things were very laid-back in Lake Eden. “Let’s get back to the phone call. Could you tell how old the woman was from her voice?”
Danielle thought about it for a moment. “She didn’t sound as young as one of Boyd’s students, but she wasn’t old.”
“Do you remember anything distinctive about her voice?”
“Well… she sort of slurred her words.”
Hannah’s ears perked up. “Did she sound drunk?”
“Not really. It was more like some kind of speech impediment. My grandmother used to call it a ‘mouthful of mush.’ Do you think that’s important, Hannah?”
“It could be. Tell me everything she said. Repeat it word for word.”
“Okay. The first thing she said was, Is Boyd there? Except it came out iszh instead of is. And when I said he was, she said, Get him on the phone. She slurred that, too, except I can’t do it.”
“Get him on the phone? Isn’t that kind of rude?”
“I thought so. I mean, she didn’t call me by name or say please, or anything like that. She sounded like she was in a big hurry. And I know that Boyd was really angry after he’d talked to her.”
“How do you know that?”
“Right after he talked to her, he came storming into the kitchen and his face was all red and kind of splotchy. It’s always that way when he’s mad. The first thing he did was accuse me of listening in on his private conversation, but I didn’t, Hannah. I swear it.”
“I believe you.” Hannah thought she knew what had happened next. “Do you remember what he said?”
“Yes. He said his call was none of my business, and I deserved to be punished for eavesdropping. I swore I’d hung up right after he got on the line, but… but he said he couldn’t trust me, and that’s when he did this.”
Danielle reached up to touch her black eye, and Hannah swallowed hard. Boyd Watson had been a real bully, but it wouldn’t serve any purpose to point that out now. “You said you put down the phone right after Boyd picked up the extension. Did you hear either of them say anything before you hung up?”
“I heard Boyd say hello. I had to stay on the line until he picked up, or I would have cut off the call. And I heard the first thing the woman said to him. It was, Boyd, we have to talk.”
“And that’s all you heard?”
“That’s all. By that time I’d hung up. I even banged the phone down a little, so Boyd would know that I was off the line.”
“So Boyd heard you hang up, but he still accused you of eavesdropping?”
“That’s right. I know it sounds awful to say it now that Boyd is… is dead, but I think he was all riled up because of the phone call and was looking for a fight. You know how people get when they’re frustrated. They have to take it out on somebody and I was…I was there.”
That was good enough for Hannah. It was clear that the phone call was important. “What did Boyd do after he hit you?”
“He said he was sorry, and he hugged me.” Danielle’s lip started to tremble again. “He got me some ice for my eye, then he called Dr. Holland right away.”
Hannah already knew that Dr. Holland was Boyd’s therapist. Danielle had told her that before. “How long did Boyd talk to Dr. Holland?”
“Just long enough to make an emergency appointment. Then he called the school to get a substitute for his afternoon classes and drove to St. Paul to see Dr. Holland at the clinic.”
Hannah made a mental note to check to make sure that Boyd had kept his appointment. That wouldn’t be easy. Dr. Holland was a psychiatrist, and psychiatrists didn’t like to give out any information about their patients. “What time did Boyd get back home?”
“It was a little after six. I know because I put the chili on at five-thirty and it said on the package that it had to cook for thirty minutes. It was all ready when Boyd got home, and he really liked it. He told me it was the best chili I ever made. And he was really sweet to me right up until the time he… he died.”
Hannah couldn’t think of anything to say. The wife beater had been sweet to his wife after he’d beaten her. It was faint praise in her book.
“This is a pretty room, isn’t it, Hannah?” Danielle changed the subject, and Hannah let her. She was still sick and had been interrogated enough for one day. “I miss being at home, but this isn’t so bad.”
As Hannah glanced around, she realized that the chocolate she’d pressed on Danielle had done its work. The hospital room was perfectly ordinary and resembled a room in an unusually clean, low-budget motel.
“They told me the Lutheran Ladies made these quilts.” Danielle reached out to stroke the patchwork quilt on the bed. “And some of the other church ladies donated the pictures. I really like that one next to the window. Boyd and I were always going to take a trip to see the ocean.”
Hannah got up to look at the seascape that Danielle had mentioned. Then another picture caught her eye, the one that was hanging inside the open bathroom door. It was a cross-stitch sampler with hands folded in prayer, and it bore the legend, “Offer up your pain as a tribute to the Lord.”
Hannah did a slow burn as she stared at the sampler. If the Lord was as merciful as all three local clergymen insisted, He certainly wouldn’t want anyone to suffer. And the idea that pain could be a tribute was barbaric!
“What is it, Hannah?” Danielle asked. “Did you find another nice picture?”
“No. Does Doc Knight let you get up to use the bathroom, Danielle?”
“Not yet. He says I’m still too weak, and I might slip and fall. He promised me that I could get up tomorrow though.”
“That’s good.” Hannah blocked the sampler with her body, lifted it off the wall, and slid it into the largest pocket of her parka. She salved her conscience by telling herself it wasn’t stealing since she intended to bring the frame back tomorrow with something more appropriate inside. “I’d better go, Danielle.”
“Are you going to look for the woman who made that phone call?”
“That’s the plan.” Hannah walked over to pat Danielle’s shoulder. “I’ll be back to see you tomorrow. And while I’m gone, I’ve got some homework for you.”
Danielle actually smiled. “If I do my homework, will you bring me some more chocolate cookies?”
“Absolutely,” Hannah promised. “I want you to make a list, Danielle. Write down the names of everyone who had some reason to be angry with Boyd.”
“But Boyd didn’t do anything wrong, Hannah. Why would anyone be angry at him?”
Hannah realized that Danielle was still in denial, and nothing she could say would convince her that Boyd hadn’t been a good husband, a good neighbor, and a good man. “It doesn’t matter whether Boyd did anything wrong or not. People still get angry at other people, and their reasons aren’t always justified. Herb Beeseman gave
