'If that's where Mr. Carpenter went through the ice, I wouldn't be surprised.'
'Then it'll be a crime scene, the mayor can't get back in?'
'Yes. What are you getting at, Hannah?'
'Mayor Bascomb's not going to happy about that, and neither is Sheriff Grant. I heard them talking about going up to Mille Lacs Lake next weekend. They do it every winter. Sheriff Grant reserves the spot and Mayor Bascomb brings his ice-fishing house.'
Mike groaned. 'I'll be taking plenty of flack about it, but there's nothing I can do. Rules are rules.'
'So you're not going to bend those rules for the mayor and Sheriff Grant?'
'No.' Mike turned to give her a puzzled look. 'I wasn't just picking on you, Hannah. I had to secure your shop. And I may have to secure the mayor's ice-fishing house.'
Hannah grinned up at him. 'I'm probably crazy, but that makes me feel better. I still think you're pig-headed, but you're pig-headed with everybody.'
'Thanks, I think.' Mike grinned and held out his arms.
Hannah walked into them and they shared a hug. Then he opened the passenger door of the squad car and waited for her to get in.
'Are you sure you don't want me to ride in back?' she quipped.
'Don't be ridiculous. I don't have any reason to believe you're a suspect. . . do I?'
'When has that stopped you?' Hannah answered his question with a question of her own. 'You suspected Norman, didn't you?'
'Not for long, and only because I had to. I told you be- fore. I didn't really believe that Norman did it.'
Hannah shut her mouth and climbed into the front seat of the squad car. Mike had certainly sounded serious when he first told her that Norman was a suspect, but this wasn't the time to remind him of that.
'Hannah?' Mike climbed in the driver's seat and reached out to touch her arm. 'Uh . . . I've been thinking about that jealousy thing.'
'What jealousy thing?'
'You know. . . that maybe I suspected Norman because I was jealous of the time you spend with him. That might not be so crazy, after all.'
'Really?' Hannah said, and then she held her breath.
'What I told you this morning is true. I'm glad that you're not sitting home waiting for me to call you. But I do get kind of a wrench in my gut when I think about you with somebody else. I don't know if you can call that jealousy, but it's close.'
'Okay,' Hannah said, hiding a smile. 'As long as we're being truthful, I got a little wrench when I saw Kristi Hampton dangling all over you. And I don't know if that's jealousy, either.'
'Dangling all over me? Is that what you thought? She was just being friendly, that's all.'
'Oh, I see.' Hannah allowed her smile to come out. 'In that case, maybe we should get a little friendlier.'
'Maybe we should.' Mike pulled her into his arms and gave her a thorough kiss. It lasted for several minutes, until both of them were as warm as toast and breathing as if they'd just run a marathon.
'Friendly enough?' Mike asked as he started the squad car and drove forward across the frozen lake.
'Oh, yes,' Hannah breathed settling back for the ride.
When Mike got close to shore, he took the temporary road that had been plowed for the delivery of the ice- fishing houses. That led them to the parking lot and Hannah's truck. He stopped near her rear bumper and reached out to take Hannah's arm before she could open her door.
'What?' Hannah asked, wondering if he was going to make even more of a commitment.
'You're not going to snoop around are you?'
Hannah gave an exasperated sigh. Leave it to Mike to spoil a perfect moment. 'I promised you I wouldn't.'
'I know, but that's never stopped you before. I tell you what. . . . Don't promise. Never make a promise you know you can't keep.'
'Okay, I won't.'
'So you are going to snoop around?'
Hannah winced. but she had to tell him the truth. 'Probably.'
'Okay. Just be very careful. That's all I ask. And call me right away if you need me.'
Hannah reached out to touch his cheek. 'I will,' she said. 'And that is a promise.'
-25-
'Then Hannah walked into the lobby of the inn, the first VV person she saw was Janie. Her temporary houseguest was standing by the desk talking with Sally, who was manning the phones.
'Hi, Janie,' Hannah greeted her. 'Did you get a chance to see Paul?'
'No, he's gone. Sally just told me that he's in Minneapolis at corporate headquarters.'
'He left at noon yesterday,' Sally explained, 'right after he came back from his interview with Mike and Bill. He told me he'd be in meetings all afternoon and all day today. I'm saving his room for him. He'll be back in time for the grand opening of the boutique tomorrow.'
'Did he leave someone in charge?' Hannah asked her.
'Alan Carpenter, but we can't find him, either. He's probably out at the mall making last-minute arrangements for the opening.'
'I really need to find out if I still have a job, and Alan would know.' Janie looked a little nervous. 'If you have time, could you take me out there?'
Hannah felt the horns of a dilemma poke her squarely in the backside. She wasn't supposed to say anything about Alan's murder, but she had to let Janie know that a trip to the mall wasn't necessary. 'Uh. . . forget the mall. Alan's not there.'
'Are you sure?' Janie asked.
'Oh, yes.' Hannah held her breath, waiting for Janie's next question.
'Where is he?'
'He's: . . um . . . out at the mayor's ice-fishing house.'
Sally's eyebrows shot up. 'What's he doing out there?'
'Not much,' Hannah said, and then she clamped her lips shut.
Sally stared at her for a moment and then began to frown. 'You look like I do when I bounce a check and I don't want Dick to find out. Is there something you're not telling us?'
'You could say that,' Hannah admitted, sending a silent apology to Mike for having to break another of his rules. 'Alan's dead.'
'I can't believe it!' Sally gasped after Hannah had told them. 'Two of my guests. . . murdered!'
'Do they think it's the same killer?' Janie asked.
'Yes. I shouldn't have told you, but I couldn't see any way around it. Don't say anything to anybody until the sheriff's department officially releases the news.'
'I won't,' Sally promised.
'Me neither,' Janie said. 'Poor Alan. Sometimes he was a real pain, but he didn't deserve that.'
Alex Matthews appeared at the doorway just then and waved to Janie. 'Hi, Janie. I'm so glad you're back!'
'So am I,' Janie said, and then she turned to Sally and Hannah. 'I'll go talk to her for a minute. Don't worry. I won't say a word about Alan.'
After Janie had left, Sally motioned for Hannah to come closer. 'You're going to investigate, aren't you?' she asked.
'Of course I am.'
'Is there anything I can do to help?'
'There may be,' Hannah said. 'The first thing I have to do is find out exactly when Alan was killed. When is the last time you saw him?'
'Last night. I was bartending and he came in with Kurt Howe. It was right before the eleven o'clock
