Janie started to grin. 'That must be an advantage a spirit has over ordinary mortals like us. Larry interviewed Sally Laughlin and she claims she saw something floating down the hall last night at a quarter to ten.'
'Sally said that?' Hannah turned the article so that she could read it. Once she'd scanned it, she looked up with a frown. 'That's an abrupt turn of face for Sally. When I talked to her yesterday, she told me she didn't believe in ghosts. I'm going to ask her about it when I get to the inn.'
By the time Hannah got out to the inn, Lisa was already hard at work rolling dough balls for the Old- Fashioned Sugar Cookies. After apologizing for being late, Hannah pitched in to help. When the four ovens Sally had allotted for their use were filled and they'd rolled the rest of the dough balls, Lisa fetched them cups of coffee and they took a short break.
'Tell me what really happened to Norman last night,' Lisa urged, sitting down on a stool next to Hannah. 'I read Larry Kruger's story in the paper, but I didn't believe a word of it.'
'Norman got bashed in the head on his way out to his car, Luanne Hanks pulled up just in time to scare his attacker away, and neither one of them saw who hit him. Norman figures it was Connie Mac's killer, and he asked me to set a trap and use him for bait.'
Lisa's eyes widened. 'Are you going to do it?'
'Of course not. It's much too dangerous. My big worry is that Norman's going to try to set up something himself.'
'You could be right. A guy can be really foolish when he's trying to impress his girlfriend.'
That comment stopped Hannah cold, and it took her a minute to recover. 'You mean. . . me?'
'Yes, you. Norman adores you, Hannah. I've seen the way he looks at you.'
'Have you been listening to Doctor Love?' Hannah asked the first question that popped into her mind.
'No, I hate that show. This is just common sense, Hannah. Norman loves you and he's trying to convince you that he's worthy of your love.'
Hannah remembered having a remarkably similar conversation with Andrea. In Lisa's version, only the name of the man had changed. Was it possible that both Mike and Norman were in love with her? Life wasn't a B-movie, and she certainly wasn't the gorgeous ingenue who sashayed her way into a love triangle with two men.
'I'm right, Hannah. You've got to trust me on this.'
Hannah still wasn't convinced. 'Okay. What do you think I should do?'
'Think of some way to stop Norman before he gets himself into trouble.'
'Right,' Hannah said, wondering what that would entail. Putting Norman in a straitjacket would work, but she didn't happen to have one handy. Handcuffs were out, Norman could still walk around in those, and an enforced trip to a desert island was impractical. Instead of concentrating on a way to render Norman immobile, she had to think of a way to convince the killer that Norman hadn't taken his picture.
'The timer just rang. You sit here and think and I'll get the cookies out of the ovens. Be devious, Hannah. You're good at that.'
Hannah wasn't sure if that was a compliment, but she sat on her stool and thought as she gazed out the window that overlooked the dining room. A few people were beginning to arrive for the continental breakfast that Sally always provided on Sunday mornings, and Hannah noticed a man filling his cup from the urn of coffee on the bar.
As she watched the man carry his coffee and a sweet roll to a two-person table in the center of the dining room, Hannah's thoughts turned back to Norman. How could she save him from himself? If he was trying to impress her with his courage, it was having quite the opposite effect. She could just kill him for offering to bait a trap, but she might not have the chance if the murderer got to him first.
The man she'd been watching had eaten his sweet roll and now he was finishing his coffee: Hannah expected him to go back for a second cup, but he surprised her by pulling a small notebook from his pocket and beginning to write. He was probably a reporter, and that realization gave Hannah the perfect idea to take the wind out of Norman's macho sails.
'I got it!' she called out to Lisa. 'Can you hold the fort for a couple of minutes? I have to find Sally and ask her who that reporter is.'
'Which reporter?' Lisa asked, walking over to peer through the window.
'The one in the center of the room. He's wearing a blue Scandinavian sweater.'
'That's Larry Kruger. Alex pointed him out to me yesterday. He's the one who's been writing those ghost stories.'
'Bingo!' Hannah said and gave Lisa a hug. 'I'll be back right after I plant the idea for his next installment.'
Larry Kruger smiled at Hannah. 'It sounds like you really enjoyed my story.'
'Oh, yes, very much,' Hannah said, resisting the urge to kick him in the shins for all the trouble he'd caused. 'I'm a friend of Norman's, and he told me something about his attack mat wasn't in the paper.'
'Really?'
'Yes. Norman told me that he tried to take a picture of Ezekiel Jordan's ghost on the night that Connie Mac was murdered.'
'No kidding!'
Hannah could practically see the wheels turning in Larry Kruger's brain. She had him hooked and she knew it. 'Norman was right next door and he saw a very strange shape lurking around outside. He said it seemed to float. Of course he had no idea that the shape was a ghost. He just thought it was curious and he snapped a whole role of film.'
'Did he . . . uh . . . develop the film?'
'Oh, yes. And absolutely nothing was on it. Of course, I wasn't surprised. 'I'm very interested in the occult, and I know that it's impossible to take a picture of a spirit. Their essence can't be captured by any mortal means.'
'Uh . . . yes. I've heard that. Thanks for telling me about it.'
'You're welcome. I really think people should know more facts about the spirit world. It's just fascinating. I've been toying with the idea of calling KCOW radio to tell them about Norman's experience, but I just hate to give them my name and . . .'
'You don't have to do that,' Larry interrupted. 'I'll be happy to call them for you. And I'll put it in the papers, too.'
'And you won't use my name?'
'Not if you don't want me to,' Larry promised. 'I'll just say I got the information from a reliable source who knows Norman Rhodes. No one will ever connect you to my story.'
Hannah put on her best grateful look. 'Thank you, Larry. That'll be just fine with me.'
Lisa was practically in hysterics by the time Hannah finished telling her what she'd done. 'And he actually believed you?'
'Oh, yes. The story should be on KCOW radio by noon at the latest. Now all I have to do is hope that the killer is listening.'
'What are you going to tell Norman?'
Hannah winced. She hadn't thought of that. 'I guess I'll I just say that I knew how stubborn he could be and I wanted to save him from doing something idiotic.'
'Don't say it like that!' Lisa looked appalled. 'You have to be more tactful. Tell Norman that you care about him and you were worried about his safety. And admit that maybe you should have consulted him first, but you felt you had to do something.'
'Okay, I can live with that. Now let's get going on these cookies. You mix up another batch of your White Chocolate Supremes and I'll start baking the Pecan Chews.'
Lisa left for the pantry to gather up her supplies, and Hannah scooped out dough for the Pecan Chews. She'd just slipped the first two pans into the oven when Sally came into the kitchen.
'Pecan Chews?' Sally walked over to gaze at the dough in Hannah's bowl.
'Give the little lady a stuffed toy. Pull up a stool, Sally. I need to ask you something.' Hannah waited until Sally was seated. None of the kitchen staff was close enough to hear, and it was the perfect opportunity to ask her about the ghost sightings. 'I read the article in the paper this morning and it said you saw Ezekiel's ghost last night. I thought you didn't believe in ghosts.'
