Fudge Cupcake Murder

granddaughter always came first. 'What other plans did Mother have? Did you ask?'

    'Of course I did, but she told me it was none of my business. And then she said I should remember that she had a life of her own.'

    Hannah's mouth dropped open. 'Mother has a life?'

    'That's what she said. Do you think it's a man?'

    'Mother?! Not a chance.'

    'But you'll find out for sure, won't you? You're so good at investigating, Hannah.'

    'I'll try,' Hannah said reluctantly, mentally adding it to her list of things to do, right behind solving the murder and clearing Bill, and just ahead of trying to run a business and get her stubborn cat to eat his new food. 'I'll let you know as soon as I find out anything.'

    'Good. Is there anything I can do to help?'

    Hannah bit back the urge to say, Stop giving me things to do, and glanced down at her steno pad. 'You can help with the murder investigation. Think of some excuse for calling Doc Knight and see if you can get him to tell you whether Sheriff Grant was dead when the killer put him in the Dumpster.'

    'Yuck!'

    'I know, but I don't want to ask Mike for any favors and Bill can't find out this time.'

    Andrea sighed. 'You're right. I'll do it today. I'm not quite as queasy as I was yesterday. I'll get all the results of the autopsy while I'm at it.'

    'Do you think Doc'll tell you?'

    'Of course. I'm a real estate agent. We're trained to get information.'

    Hannah thanked her sister and hung up the phone. She'd just finished filling Moishe's food and water bowls and was stuffing her steno pad into her purse when the phone rang again. She grabbed it and sat down in the chair again, pulling out her notebook. 'That was fast! What did Doc say?'

    'What was fast?'

    Hannah groaned as she recognized her mother's voice. 'Sorry, Mother. I thought it was Andrea. She promised to get back to me.'

    'Is there something wrong with the new baby?'

    'Not that I know of. Why?'

    'You mentioned Doc.'

    'Right,' Hannah began to smile. Perhaps she could use her mother's worry about Andrea to her advantage. 'Andrea called a couple of minutes ago.'

    'But it's not even six-thirty yet!'

    'I know. She was having trouble sleeping. I told her to call Doc and maybe he could give her something.'

    'That was a good idea. The poor dear is probably worried sick about Bill.'

    'Actually, no.' Hannah took a deep breath and prepared to drive in the nail. 'Andrea's worried about you.'

    'About me? Why would she worry about me?'

    'She said you didn't jump at the chance to keep Tracey next Saturday night. And when she asked you why, you told her that you had a life.'

    'Oh.' Delores was silent for a long moment. 'Well… I suppose I could change my plans and keep Tracey if it's that important to her.'

    'What plans are those, Mother?'

    'None of your business, dear. I may be your mother, but I'm entitled to some privacy when it comes to my personal life.'

    Hannah gave it up as a bad job. Her mother was almost as stubborn as Moishe. When Delores decided to keep a secret, no one could pry it out of her. 'Okay, Mother. We won't discuss it any further.'

    'Good. You're the daughter with the most sense, Hannah. Except when it comes to men, that is. How you could date that awful Mike Kingston is beyond me!'

    Hannah didn't rise to the bait. It was just too early in the morning to fight. 'I've got to get to work, Mother. Is there anything specific you wanted?'

    'Yes. Thank you for reminding me, dear. I called to tell you that Sheriff Grant's funeral is on Sunday at Jordan High at two o'clock.'

    'It's at the school?”

    'Yes, in the auditorium. It's the only place that's large enough. He was very well liked and they expect a huge turnout. You're going, aren't you?'

    Hannah sighed. She hated funerals. 'I don't know, Mother.'

    'Well, you have to go. The killer always shows up at the graveside.'

    'What?'

    'That's the way it happens in the movies. By the way, all the businesses in town are closing at noon on Saturday as a sign of respect.'

    'They are?' Hannah was surprised. This was the first she'd heard about it.

    'They will when they read the notice in the paper. Carrie and I wrote it up and Rod promised to publish it today.'

    'Okay, Mother,' Hannah said. With Delores and Carrie spearheading the effort, any business in Lake Eden that didn't close at noon on Saturday would be roundly criticized.

    'Andrea should go the funeral,' Delores went on. 'It's right for Bill to stay away since he's a suspect, but the family should be represented.'

    'So Andrea's going with you?' Hannah asked, glancing up at her apple-shaped clock. The hands were moving inexorably forward and if she wanted to finish most of the baking before Lisa came in, she'd have to leave in less than five minutes.

    'She can't go with me dear. The Regency Romance Club is doing something special. We're all arriving together and we're going to sit behind Nettie in a show of support.'

    'That's nice, Mother.' Hannah said warily. She had the feeling she knew what was coming next.

    'That's why I want you to take Andrea. Call her the minute you get to work and tell her you think she should go with you.'

    Hannah was about to say she still wasn't sure she'd be attending Sheriff Grant's funeral, but before she could even open her mouth, Delores said goodbye and hung up.

    'She did it again,' Hannah said to Moishe, who was staring at the phone with his ears back. He always seemed to know when his least favorite person called. Delores liked to be the one who ended the conversation and hung up first, and she usually succeeded. It was par for the course for the woman who always wanted the last word.

Chapter Thirteen

    By the time Sunday morning rolled around, Hannah was frustrated beyond belief. She tried the rest of the tips on the list and Moishe hadn't even sampled his new food. She planned to call Doctor Bob in the morning to see if he had any new suggestions, but for the present, she was stumped. And since she didn't feel like fighting with her stubborn four-footed roommate this morning, she caved in again.

    Moishe gave a sound that was half purr, half grateful mew as Hannah filled his bowl with his regular crunchies. But instead of gobbling them up as he usually did, he came over to rub against her ankles.

    'You're welcome,' Hannah said, pouring her second cup of coffee. 'You can go ahead and eat. I'll just sit at the kitchen table and wake up.'

    As Moishe crunched happily, Hannah's thoughts turned to Sheriff Grant's murder. For the most part she was getting nowhere fast, but one of her questions had been answered. Although Doc Knight had refused to give Andrea a copy of the autopsy report, he answered her question off-the-record. The blow Sheriff Grant suffered to