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.
“I’m positive. The killer assumes he found it and destroyed it. He pulled all of Lucy’s film out of their canisters. You’ll see that when you get up to her apartment.”
“Wait a second.” Bill looked confused again. “Wouldn’t the killer take Lucy’s film and develop it to make sure he had the right pictures?”
“Not unless he’s got his own darkroom. Think about it, Bill. There’s no way he’d take an incriminating piece of evidence down to Lake Eden Neighborhood Pharmacy and send it off for processing.”
“You’ve got a good point,” Mike said.
“Of course I do. And I have another piece of the puzzle if you want to see it.”
“You said see.” Mike picked up on her word immediately. “Is it another picture?”
Hannah handed him her final print. “It’s a blowup Norman did from the last shot on Lucy’s roll, the one where the killer is raising his arm. It’s the killer’s cuff link, and it’s clearer than the rest of the picture because it was glittering in the moonlight.”
Mike stared at the last print for a moment and then he handed it to Bill. “It’s a horse head, and it looks like an antique.”
“It’s also rare,” Andrea informed them. “I dashed over to Mother’s this afternoon and looked it up in one of her auction catalogues the last pair that went on the block sold for seven thousand dollars.”
Hannah turned to Andrea in surprise. She hadn’t known that her sister had done that particular piece of legwork. “When did you find time to do that?”
“Right after John and Wendy bought the farm.”
“Don’t say bought the farm.” Hannah started to laugh. “Especially not with a killer on the loose.”
Mike cracked up, and so did Bill and Andrea. It felt good to laugh, and it relieved the tension. For a few moments, all of them managed to push the brutality of the two murders out of their minds, but then they saw headlights at the mouth of the alley as Doc Knight’s Explorer pulled in. It was a tangible reminder that violent death lay only a few feet away, and their laughter ended abruptly.
“There’s one other thing you should know,” Hannah said quickly, before Mike could get out of the cruiser.
“You can tell me in a minute.” Mike opened his door and motioned for Bill to do the same. “Just stay right here. We’ll fill Doc in, and I’ll be right back.”
“What are you going to tell him?” Andrea asked, the moment they were alone.
“Something new,” Hannah said. She didn’t want to go into the story of Rudy’s outtakes for Wednesday’s montage and that it would take four hours to watch them. “I’ll tell you both when Mike gets back.”
That seemed to satisfy Andrea because she smiled. “You were really something, Hannah. You told Bill and Mike just what they had to know, and you didn’t even have to lie about the rest. You just… well… what’s the right word?”
“Evaded. I evaded telling them the whole truth.”
“That’s it. You evaded, and it worked out just fine. You know, Hannah? Maybe I shouldn’t say this, but I think you’d make a great real-estate agent.”
* * *
“Aren’t you happy, Hannah?” Andrea asked as they drove down the snowy streets to the school.
“Happy?”
“Yes. Mike finally agreed to let us do some real detective work. He gave us his permission to watch the outtakes.”
“Right.” Hannah pulled into the lot. There was no need to burst Andrea’s bubble by telling her that Mike and Bill might have had an ulterior motive. If she and Andrea watched the outtakes, they’d be saving the real detectives four hours of work, and they’d be safely in the KCOW production truck with the night engineer. Hannah suspected that it was Mike’s way of keeping them out of trouble, but perhaps she was being uncharitable. “Are you sure you don’t mind watching the tapes with me?”
“I don’t mind. There could be some pictures of Tracey. Wasn’t it nice of Mason Kimball to offer to make me a copy if we found some?”
“Yes, it was.” Hannah thought about Mason’s antique cuff links and made a mental note to ask him if he’d talked to Ellen about any with horse heads on them. It probably wouldn’t do any good, but it couldn’t hurt to follow up. Even if they’d been sold, the jeweler in the mall might have kept records of something that valuable. It was a long shot, but not impossible.
“Bill said he’d be at least another two hours,” Andrea said. “He’ll pick me up here when he’s through. I hope he’s late. I’d really like to see the whole tape.”
“Maybe he will be.” Hannah pulled around the building and parked next to the production truck. “Okay, Andrea. Let’s go. Reach in the back and snag some cookies. I still haven’t eaten, and my stomach is growling.”
“Oh-oh.” Andrea held up the empty bag of Cocoa Snaps. “I just ate the last one. Do you want to make a trip out to the Quick Stop and get some snacks?”
Hannah considered it for a brief moment, but driving out to the Quick Stop would take at least fifteen minutes, and it was already close to eleven. “Never mind. It won’t kill me to go without food for another couple of hours. I’ll catch something later, when I get home.”
“Moishe.”
