organized my staff when they wheeled out the buffet.'
Hannah nodded, remembering the efficient dark-haired woman who'd directed Sally's kitchen help. 'Janie and Alex are close?'
'Closer than most. It was one of those instant rapport things. They just clicked, you know?' Sally glanced at her watch. 'Alex is upstairs right now, checking on the maids, but she'll be back in the kitchen in about ten minutes.'
'We'll talk to her. Thanks, Sally.'
After Sally had left on her rounds again, Hannah filled Andrea's plate and headed back to the bar. She got there just as Andrea was slipping her cell phone back into her purse.
'Any luck?'
'No. I called everyone we hung around with in high school, and no one's seen Janie. They didn't even know she was in town. I think she must have left Lake Eden.'
Hannah hoisted herself up on the bar stool and set the plate she'd filled in front of her sister. 'Sally just gave me a possible lead.' Andrea sliced open a biscuit, spread it with butter and apricot jam, and slipped in a slice of ham. She took a bite and smiled. 'Just let me finish eating and we'll go follow up on it.'
Hannah bit her tongue to keep from voicing the comment that popped into her head. If they waited for Andrea to finish eating, Janie would have time to get halfway around the world in a rowboat.
They found Alex in the kitchen, taking her coffee break. After they had introduced themselves and told her that Sally had sent them, Hannah asked her about Janie.
'Yes, I know Janie.' Alex looked a bit worried. 'Is anything wrong?'
Hannah smiled to reassure her. She'd found that she learned much more when she didn't alarm the people she questioned. 'Janie's a good friend of ours. Andrea went to high school with her.'
'Of course.' Alex turned to Andrea with a smile. 'I didn't connect the name at first. You're her best friend and you married the handsome quarterback. Janie flew back here for your wedding and she caught your bridal bouquet.'
Andrea smiled back. 'That's right. Bill helped me practice for a solid week and I pegged it straight at her.'
'How did you meet Janie?' Hannah pressed on before Andrea could ask what else Janie had said about her wedding.
'One of the maids called in sick the day she checked in, and I took some fresh towels up to her room. She's a lovely girl.'
'Then you didn't know her before she checked in at the inn?'
Alex shook her head. 'We just got to talking and we discovered that we had a lot in common.'
'Like what?' Hannah asked.
'Just a lot of little things. Janie's crazy about old musicals and so am I. Our favorite dessert is coffee ice cream with chocolate sauce, we do crossword puzzles to relax, and we both like to read biographies. Janie says we're birds of a feather.'
'Do you happen to know where Janie went when she left the inn last night?' Hannah asked.
'I didn't see her at all last night. Why? Is there something wrong?'
Hannah started to shake her head, but then she reconsidered. If Alex was a friend, she deserved to know the situation. 'We're not sure. Janie packed up all her things last night and left.'
'She did?' Alex was clearly surprised. 'Do you know why?'
'We think she might have had a fight with Connie Mac,' Andrea answered the question.
'That's possible. I was at the desk when Mrs. Macintyre left, and she stomped out of here in a huff. Janie came down a minute or two later and I asked her why she wasn't riding in the limo. She said that Mrs. MacIntyre had told her to take her own car and that she was in a nasty mood. '
'Do you think Janie quit?' Andrea asked.
'Oh, no. Janie needed her job and she's not a quitter. Mrs. MacIntyre probably fired her again.'
Andrea's mouth opened, and Hannah sent her a warning glance. It snapped shut again and Hannah turned back to Alex. 'You said again. Was Janie fired before?'
'Oh, yes. But she said it was never more than a few hours before Mrs. MacIntyre would call to rehire her.'
'Why would she go back to a job like that?' Hannah was amazed.
'That's exactly what I asked her.' Alex gave a little laugh. 'And Janie said that Mrs. MacIntyre was the only fly in the ointment. She loved her job and she really liked all the people on the staff.'
'How about Mr. MacIntyre?' Hannah glanced at her sister, but Andrea's mouth was glued shut.
'She absolutely adored him. She said he was a saint for putting up with his wife all these years, and that he deserved a lot better.'
Hannah almost groaned aloud. She didn't think that Janie and Paul had been more than friends, but Bill and Mike would put a very different spin on Alex's answer.
'Janie never goes along to the book signings,' Alex went on, 'and we were going to get together this afternoon. I hope Mrs. MacIntyre called to rehire her this morning.'
'She didn't,' Hannah said, not relishing the task of telling someone else that Connie Mac was dead.
'But why? She needs Janie. No one else can put up with her. She went through twelve assistants the year before Janie carne on board.'
'I'm sure she would have called Janie,' Andrea said, taking over, 'but that was impossible. Connie Mac died last night.'
Alex's eyes widened. 'She's dead? Why didn't anyone tell me? I thought her face was awfully red when she left yesterday afternoon, but I figured she was just angry. Was it her heart?'
Hannah clamped her lips shut to keep from saying, Of course not. Connie Mac didn't have a heart. Andrea had barged in and now she could deal with telling Alex how Connie Mac had died.
'Well. . . actually. . .' Andrea shot her sister a pleading glance, but Hannah pretended not to notice. 'It was a little more serious than that. Connie Mac was. . . uh . . . killed.'
'You mean murdered?' Alex gasped and her face turned pale.
Hannah looked over at Andrea. She still had that pleading look on her face. Andrea, the smooth talker who could handle any situation, needed to be bailed out.
'The police think it's murder, but it could be an accident,' Hannah explained. 'That's why we need to find Janie. She was with Connie Mac last night and we want to ask her what happened.'
'Do the police think that Janie killed Connie Mac and ran away?' Alex looked sick at the thought.
Hannah took over. 'They think it's possible. That's why we want to find her before they do. We want to help her.'
Alex sat there quietly for a moment, and Hannah noticed that her hands were trembling. 'I'd help you if I could, but I really don't know where Janie's gone.'
'If she calls you, will you tell us?' Hannah asked.
'Yes, I will.'
Andrea pulled out one of her cards and handed it to Alex. 'Here's my cell phone number. Call me anytime, day or night.'
'I will.' Alex took the card and slipped it into her apron pocket. Then she blinked, and Hannah could see that she was fighting tears. 'Just find her, please. And tell me the minute you do. Poor Janie must be so frightened, out there all alone.'
There was nothing else to say, and Hannah motioned to Andrea. They had other people to see. It wasn't until they had left the kitchen that she asked the question that had been hovering in her mind ever since they'd concluded their interview. 'Don't you think that Alex's reaction was a little strange?'
'What reaction?'
'When we told her that Janie was missing, her hands started to tremble. And when she asked us to hurry and find her, she was blinking back tears.'
'That's not so strange,' Andrea objected. 'She was concerned.'
'I realize that, but don't you think it was a little out of proportion?'
'Not really. I feel exactly the same way. Every time I think about how lonely and scared Janie must be, I get
