Fudge Cupcake Murder

take his hand the way the new deputy was doing, or… Hannah gasped as the new deputy turned to look toward their booth.

    'What's the matter?' This time it was Andrea's turn to ask. 'Your face just turned a really funny color.'

    'That would be green.'

    'What?'

    'Never mind. The woman with Mike isn't a new deputy.'

    'Well, that's a relief! Who is she then?'

    Hannah decided to answer, even though it wasn't a relief at all. 'Her name is Shawna Lee Quinn.'

    'What a name! She sounds like an actress, or a singer.'

    Or an exotic dancer, Hannah thought, but she didn't say it. 'She's the newest civilian employee at the station. Sheriff Grant hired her when one of the secretaries retired.'

    'How do you know that?'

    'The last time I was out at the station, when I was still speaking to him, Mike introduced me to her.'

    'Oh. Well, what is she doing with Mike?'

    Hannah sighed. 'Probably everything.'

    'What?'

    'Never mind. Maybe Mike promised her dinner if she stayed late. He's the acting sheriff and he could do that.'

    'She's certainly attractive,' Andrea commented, watching as Shawna Lee slipped out of the jacket, 'and she knows how to dress. That's a really expensive sweater.'

    Yeah, too bad they didn't have it in her size! Hannah bit back the old taunt from high school.

    'Oh, good. Here comes our pizza.' Andrea was all smiles as the waitress approached their table. 'Half for you and half for me?'

    'Right,' Hannah said, even though any appetite she'd managed to drum up had disappeared right along with the jacket that Shawna Lee had removed to show off her incredible figure. Hannah remembered thinking that the secretary was pretty when Mike had introduced them, but she hadn't been jealous. Of course that had been a work situation and she hadn't seen Shawna Lee in action. Tonight was different. Tonight she acted as if she were out on a date with Mike, looking up at him under her lashes and reaching out to touch his arm. Maybe she was on a date with Mike. It certainly wasn't impossible. After all, Hannah had made it clear that she didn't want anything to do with him.

    'Have some pizza, Hannah.' Andrea looked concerned as she noticed the direction of Hannah's gaze. 'You don't want him. He's a jerk and he wasn't fair to Bill.'

    'Right.'

    'Not only that, they deserve each other. I saw her batting her eyes at the man in the next booth while Mike was reading the menu. She's probably about as loyal as Mike is.'

    'Right.'

    'So have some pizza and forget about Mike. You're better off without him. You wouldn't want to be seen with the kind of man who…' Andrea stopped speaking as her phone rang. She dived into her purse with her hand to retrieve it. 'Hello?'

    Hannah spared Mike one more glance and then reached out for the pizza. She'd be darned if she'd let him spoil a perfectly good pizza for her!

    'Hi, Doc. I didn't think doctors worked on Sundays.'

    Hannah bit into the pizza and chewed thoughtfully. It must be Doc Knight, getting back to Andrea about some question she'd asked.

    'I've got a couple of minutes if you don't mind me chewing and talking at the same time. Hannah and I just ordered a pizza.'

    Hannah took another bite of her pizza and frowned slightly. It wasn't quite as good as it had been in the past. Of course, the last pizza she'd eaten in Bertanelli's had been with Mike. And they'd been seated in the very same booth where he now sat with Shawna Lee.

    'Oh, no!' Andrea groaned, snapping Hannah out of her unhappy thoughts. 'You know me, Doc. I've never been anemic in my life. You're kidding, right?'

    Hannah's full attention shifted to her sister. Andrea had sounded positively panic stricken.

    'All right, I will,' Andrea said with a deep sigh, 'but I hope you know what you're doing. You have no idea how awful this is going to be for me.'

    Hannah’s frown was a full-scale glower by the time Andrea said goodbye and turned off the phone. 'What did Doc say? You're going to be all right, aren't you?'

    'I'll be fine as long as I follow his advice.'

    'Which is?' Hannah asked, leaning back and waiting.

    'I'm anemic and I'm retaining water. Those two things aren't good for the baby. I'm supposed to up my prenatal vitamins to two a day, I have to get at least nine hours sleep, and I can't have any salt in my diet.'

    'Uh-oh,' Hannah groaned, looking at the pizza.

    'You take it home with you. I can't have any more.' Andrea looked extremely depressed.

    'I can understand why you're upset,' Hannah said, waving at the waitress and gesturing for a carry-out container.

    'No, you can't. I haven't told you the worst part yet. Doc wanted to stick me in the hospital until the baby was born, but he said he wouldn't as long as I agreed to a restriction.'

    'What restriction?'

    'I can't be on my feet for more than four hours a day!'

    'Uh-oh,' Hannah said with a wince. For a person like Andrea, who was usually on the go for most of her waking hours, Doc's restriction would be a real hardship. 'Try to look on the bright side, Andrea. It's only for a couple more weeks.'

    Andrea opened her mouth. Hannah had the uncomfortable feeling that she was about to get blasted with a mega-dose of her sister's ire when Andrea's cell phone rang again. 'Saved by the bell,' she murmured, as Andrea answered the phone.

    'Hi, honey,' Andrea chirped, in a real effort to be cheerful. That told Hannah that her caller was either Tracey or Bill. 'Harry Wilcox? Of course I remember him! He's okay, isn't he?'

    Hannah listened as she scooped the pizza into the carryout box the waitress had brought, but she didn't learn much of interest by hearing Andrea say yes five times in a row.

    'Let's go, Hannah.' Andrea dropped her phone in her purse and stood up. 'Bill just got a call from Harry Wilcox and he wants us to come back to the house right away.'

    Hannah met Harry Wilcox, a veteran Winnetka County Deputy, during Bill's first year on the force. Harry had been Bill's mentor and also his first partner. 'Harry and his wife are okay, aren't they?'

    'They're fine. It's just that Harry heard about Sheriff Grant^ murder and he called Bill to talk about it. Bill says Harry had an idea about why the sheriff might have been killed.'

    'Okay. I'm ready.' Hannah grabbed the takeout box and was about to leave the booth when Andrea grabbed her arm.

    'Let's walk past Mike's booth on the way out. When he says hello to us, we can cut him dead.'

    'Really, Andrea!' Hannah did her best to sound shocked. 'Don't you think that's a little childish?'

    Andrea thought about it for a moment and then she dipped her head in a nod. 'I guess it is a little childish. I don't blame you for not wanting to do it.'

    'Did I say that?' Hannah countered with a grin. 'We'll walk on by and let him see what he's missing.'

    The two Swensen sisters linked arms and set off in tandem toward Mike's booth. They arranged fixed smiles on their faces and they kept their eyes straight ahead. Hannah sneaked a glance at Mike's booth and her smile slipped alarmingly. He was paying so much attention to Shawna Lee he didn't even notice them.

    Hannah marched straight past the booth without a second glance. As she opened the door and ushered her sister out, she vowed that Mike would pay for not even glancing their way. She wasn't sure how, but she'd exact a price one way or another.