“Because she could have left something inside that’ll tell us where she’s gone.”
Andrea thought about it for a moment. “All right. Are you going to break the garage window?”
“Not unless the door is locked. It’s the old kind that doesn’t have an opener. I can see the mechanism.” Hannah snapped off her flashlight and stuck it in the pocket of the parka.
“Do you think it’ll be unlocked?”
“There’s a good chance. Most people don’t lock their garages in Lake Eden. There’s practically no crime.”
“If you don’t count murder.”
Hannah gave an appreciative chuckle as they retraced her steps to the front of the garage. At least Andrea had recovered enough to crack a joke. She bent down to grasp the handle on the door, turned it until it clicked, and then pulled. The door slid up smoothly. Either Lucy or Vera must have greased the track before the first snowfall.
Andrea gave her the high sign and squared her shoulders. “I changed my mind. I’m going in with you. I’d never forgive myself if something bad happened to you and I wasn’t there.”
That comment struck Hannah as funny and she bit back a giggle. Andrea seemed to think it would be terrible if something bad happened when she wasn’t there, but everything would be okay if she was it didn’t make sense, but Hannah was glad to have her company all the same.
After they’d stepped in, Hannah reached up to lower the door. Andrea gasped and she stopped. “What is it?”
“Do you have to close the door? It’s so dark in here.”
“I guess not, but don’t turn on your flashlight. Vera’s neighbors across the alley might see it. Just inch your way along the side of Lucy’s car and don’t trip over anything. I’ll go first.”
Both sisters inched their way forward until Hannah had reached the driver’s door. She reached into her pocket, pulled out her flashlight, and pressed it up against the window. “Okay, Andrea. I’m going to look to see if I can spot anything.”
“Okay. Hurry, Hannah. I’m freezing.”
Hannah snapped on her flashlight, took one look, and snapped it right back off again. “Do you have your cell phone with you, Andrea?”
“Of course I do. I’m a real-estate agent, and I never go anywhere without it.”
“Where is it?”
“It’s in my purse in your truck. Why?”
“I want you to go back to the truck and call Bill. Tell him to come over here right away.”
Andrea gasped as the implication of Hannah’s request sank in. “Lucy’s in her car?”
“That’s right.”
“Is she… uh… dead?”
“As a mackerel.”
“But are you sure?”
“I’m sure.” Hannah fought to keep her voice steady. The sight she’d captured with the beam of her flashlight had completely eliminated the necessity for an ambulance, and she wasn’t about to share the details with her sister. “Just do it, Andrea. Right now. And after you’ve called, eat a couple of cookies. It’s going to be a long night.
* * *
The county cruiser pulled up in record time, and Hannah was relieved to see Bill and Mike. At times like this, the presence of two officers who’d been trained to deal with the aftermath of death was very reassuring.
Mike got out of the cruiser and came straight up to Hannah. “What happened?”
“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?”
