Fudge Cupcake Murder

in any one day. One more comment from Shawna Lee and she'd be on overload. 'Hi, Shawna Lee. Is Barbara on a break?'

    'No.' Shawna Lee put on a tragic face. 'It's just so sad, Hannah. Barbara took a leave of absence… you know, one of those compassionate things? I'm afraid it's of indefinite duration.'

    'What does that mean?'

    'It means we don't know how long she'll be gone,' Shawna Lee answered Hannah's question literally. 'Barbara worked with Sheriff Grant for years, you know. And she said she just wasn't sure she could come back to work without him. They were like partners. You know what I mean?'

    'Sure,' Hannah said. 'So you're filling in for Barbara until she comes back?'

    Shawna Lee nodded and her ash blond curls bounced. Then she leaned a little closer and said, 'Just between you and me, I don't think Barbara will be back. She really lost it when she heard that Sheriff Grant had been killed. She even misfiled a bunch of daily reports.'

    'She did?' Hannah was surprised. Everyone said that Barbara was a great secretary and it would be out of character for her to misfile reports. 'Do you remember what was in those reports?'

    'Not really. I didn't pay that much attention. I just looked for the ones that were misfiled and put them back in the proper places. It took me hours and I found all but one. Just as soon as I get some extra time, I'm going to go through the folders paper by paper until I find it.'

    'I'm curious,' Hannah said, giving Shawna Lee a smile that she hoped would invite confidences. 'How do you know there's still one report missing?'

    'I can tell by the file folder.'

    'What file folder?'

    'There's a hanging file folder with nothing in it.'

    'Oh. And you don't think Barbara was in the habit of storing her hanging folders that way?'

    Shawna Lee shook her head. 'I know she wasn't. There weren't any other empty folders in the cabinet and there's half a box of them in her supply drawer. There's a report missing. I'm sure of it.'

    'Well, good luck in finding it,' Hannah said, turning to go. That missing report could be important and Shawna Lee had already told her everything she knew. Now Hannah needed to talk to Barbara Donnelly.

    'I'm really glad you dropped by, Hannah.'

    'You are?' Hannah turned back.

    'Yes. I wanted to find out how your sister was. I bet she's really relieved that her husband is back at work. She's about ready to have those twins, isn't she?'

    'She's not having twins.'

    'Really?' Shawna Lee looked surprised. 'But the last time I saw her out here at the station, she was so big and awkward. Of course that's understandable. It must be terribly difficult to look attractive when you're that pregnant.'

    'Andrea manages,' Hannah said, bristling. Shawna Lee had no right to criticize her sister.

    'She does have some very cute maternity outfits. Still, I'm sure she'll be glad to get her shape back. Bill will probably be glad, too.'

    'Why's that?' Hannah asked, just waiting for Shawna to say something catty and seal her fate.

    'It can't be any fun for a guy to get close and personal when his wife looks like a balloon.' Shawna Lee gave a little laugh and she didn't seem to notice that Hannah hadn't joined in. 'I really hope you'll put in a good word for me with your sister and Bill. I'm a good secretary and I'd love to get this job and work for Bill, especially since he's bound to win the election now.'

    Hannah smiled and it wasn't a nice smile. 'You're wrong, Shawna Lee. Bill might not be the next sheriff.'

    'But why not? He's the only one running now that Sheriff Grant is dead.'

    'True. But Sheriff Grant could still win. The ballots are already printed and his name is on them.'

    Shawna Lee's mouth formed a perfect round circle for an instant. Then she recovered and started to frown. 'You mean that the people could elect a dead man?'

    'It's been known to happen,' Hannah said, taking a certain glee in informing Shawna Lee of that fact. 'If it does, Mike will keep the job of Acting Sheriff until the Winnetka County Board of Supervisors can schedule another election.'

    Shawna Lee cocked her head to the side and stared at Hannah for a moment. Then she smiled. 'Well, that'd be great, too. Mike's my boss right now and I just adore him. Just between you and me, he was the one who talked me into moving up here from The Cities and applying for this job in the first place.'

    'She actually said I looked like a balloon?' Andrea's eyes started to blaze. 'That does it. She'll work for Bill over my dead body!'

    'That's what I figured,' Hannah said.

    'And right now she's working for Mike?'

    'That's what she said.'

    Andrea's eyebrows shot up at the tone in her sister's voice. 'Okay. You can relax, Hannah. I'll take care of her.'

    'What are you going to do?'

    'It's what we're both going to do.'

    'What's that?'

    'I'll call Barbara Donnelly and set up a meeting. You convince her to come back to work so that little Miss Quinn has to go back to the typing pool.'

    'That'll get her away from the top office, but she'll still be out there at the station.'

    'Not for long,' Andrea said, giving a knowing little smile. 'She's not going to like being demoted. I can practically guarantee that. And she might be so unhappy, she'll leave.'

    'What if she doesn't?'

    Andrea shrugged. 'Maybe I'll help to find her another job. You know how it is when you're a real estate professional. You hear about all sorts of interesting career opportunities.'

    Fifteen minutes later, Hannah walked out of the Lake Eden Veterinarian Clinic clutching a small white bag. The contents of the bag had cost her more than Mike paid for the four breakfasts at The Corner Tavern this morning, but if it worked, the expense was worth it. Doctor Bob had prescribed a bottle of vitamins to aid in the health of the senior cat. If Hannah could manage to dose Moishe every night, she could throw away the senior chow and continue to feed him the regular kitty crunchies he preferred.

    Hannah climbed behind the wheel and put the white bag in the glove compartment. She doubted that any senior cats would attempt to break into her cookie truck to steal it, but she wasn't taking any chances. Then she drove straight to The Cookie Jar to check in with Lisa.

    'Your sister called,' Lisa greeted Hannah as she came into the kitchen. 'Barbara's going to be at Danielle Watson's dance studio at three today. She'll be watching her granddaughter's dance practice.'

    'Thanks, Lisa. Do you want a break? I can take over the counter for a while.'

    'No, I'm fine. It's been slow today, except for a couple of girls who were skipping science class. They wanted me to turn on MTV while they were eating their cookies and they were really disappointed when I told them that we didn't have cable. The cable was out last Monday night and they told me that there was some big concert on MTV. The station was rerunning it at ten this morning and the girls weren't happy about missing it again.'

    Hannah was about to reply when what Lisa had said hit her. 'Are you sure the cable was out on Monday night?'

    'I'm positive. Dad wanted to see a movie and I had to run out to the video store so he'd have something to watch.'

    'Do you think the cable was out all over town?'

    'Their recorded message said it was. Lake Eden and surrounding areas, was how they put it. I'm going to subtract a day from our cable bill.'

    'Good idea.' Hannah pulled her notebook from her purse and started paging through it. 'Thanks for telling me, Lisa. There's something here that doesn't make sense.'