“Help!” Hannah shouted. “Help me, Herb!”
“Hannah? Are you in there?”
“Yes!” Hannah shouted, almost dizzy with relief. “I’m locked in!”
“Hang on, Hannah! I’ll get you out! I’ve got bolt cutters in the cruiser. I’ll be right back.”
Hannah knew Herb had to leave for a minute or two in order to rescue her, but she still felt abandoned. The fearful feeling began to come back, but it was quickly dispelled by a little sound outside the door.
“Dillon?” she called out, and she was rewarded by an answering bark. “Stay with me, Dillon,” she said, and she heard him paw at the door.
“I’m back,” Herb shouted out. “Just a second, Hannah. All I have to do is…there we go!”
Hannah heard a loud snap and a moment later, the heavy wooden door creaked open. Sunlight poured in, and for a few moments she was confused. It was still daytime! The sunlight was so bright it hurt her eyes, and she blinked like a mole coming up from its hole. And then a little white dog barreled up to her and she caught him in her arms.
“What happened?” Herb asked, as Dillon licked Hannah’s nose.
“Perry killed Bradford and he locked me in here. Call it in, Herb. He’s crazy and they’ve got to catch him!”
“I’m on it,” Herb said. “Can you get back to the cruiser by yourself?”
“Yes. Go!” Hannah smiled as she received another doggy kiss on her cheek. She kissed Dillon back on the top of his head and stuffed her lifesaving cell phone back in her pocket. And then she stepped out into the light with Dillon following closely behind her.
They hurried through the cemetery and up to the cruiser where Herb was making the call. Hannah opened the passenger door and patted her lap for Dillon to jump up. When he did, she gave him another nuzzle on the head. “Good boy!” she said.
“Dispatch found Mike,” Herb reported, turning to her. “He was heading straight out to the college apartments anyway.”
“Why?”
“Michelle called him on his cell phone when you didn’t come back from the concession stand. She said she didn’t know if it was important, but she remembered where she’d heard Kyle Williamson’s name before. Sherri Connors introduced him as her boyfriend when they were rehearsing the Christmas Follies at the college. Mike was heading out there to interview Sherri about him.”
“So I was a step ahead of Mike,” Hannah said, not sure if that was a bad or a good thing.
“That’s right. Mike said to hang tight, he’ll catch up with you later at home to take your statement.”
“Good,” Hannah said, and then she turned back to Dillon. “You’re such a good boy, Dillon. When I get back to the condo, I’m going to bake a special cake just for you!”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
It was the most unusual cake she’d ever made. Hannah mixed up the frosting, spread some between the layers to hold them in place, and frosted the top and sides. This process was made doubly difficult by the intrusion of an orange and white cat, who was clearly mesmerized by her actions.
“Now don’t be jealous,” Hannah told Moishe. “This cake is for Dillon because he saved my life. When I come home from the party at the Lake Eden Inn, I’ll figure out how to make you your own cake.”
Despite her pacifying promise, Moishe’s whiskers touched the frosting in several places before Hannah was through putting on the finishing touches. He’d never been this interested in her culinary efforts before! Perhaps it was the cream cheese in the frosting. Moishe loved cream cheese. Hannah found the wrapper, scraped off the little smears of cream cheese that were clinging to the inside, and held out her finger for Moishe to lick.
“Okay,” Hannah said, intending to head to the bedroom to get dressed, but thinking better of it. Moishe wanted the cake and it was out on the counter, a small jump for him and a large disaster for her.
The microwave. Hannah opened the door, stashed the cake inside, and closed it. Moishe was a smart cat, but he hadn’t learned how to open the microwave yet…. or at least she hoped he hadn’t.
“Better safe than sorry,” Hannah mumbled, just as Michelle came into the kitchen, all dressed and ready to go. “Will you do a favor for me?”
“Sure. What is it?”
“Carry Dillon’s cake down to the cookie truck while I get dressed. It’s in the microwave and I don’t trust Moishe.”
“Moishe can open the microwave?”
“I don’t think so, but you never know with him. If he can figure out a way to get to his food in a locked broom closet, I wouldn’t put a simple thing like opening a microwave past him.”
Hannah pulled into Lisa and Herb’s driveway and parked. She glanced down at her purse, recovered from the floor-boards under the passenger seat of Perry’s city maintenance truck, and handed it to Michelle. “I’ll be right back.”
“This is so sweet of you, Hannah!” Lisa looked delighted as she accepted Dillon’s cake. “The only thing is… I’m not sure dogs like cake.”
“He’ll like this one. It’s a Good Doggy Cake. The frosting is cream cheese and liverwurst, and the three layers are ground chicken, ground beef, and ground turkey.”
“Oh, my!” Lisa was clearly impressed. “In that case he’s going to love it. I’ll give him a piece for dessert tonight and tell him it’s from you.”
Hannah gave Lisa a hug and hurried back out to her cookie truck. Once there, she pressed the pedal to the metal, which didn’t have the same effect that racecar drivers spoke of, and they arrived at the Lake Eden Inn fifteen minutes later than the time stated by their mother when she invited them for dinner.
“I guess we’re not so late after all,” Hannah said to Michelle as they followed the waitress to a long table in the center of the dining room. Delores was already seated at the head of the table with Mike seated next to her around the corner. There were place cards, as usual, and Hannah headed over to Mike, knowing that her mother always sandwiched her in between Mike and Norman.
“Hello, darlings!” Delores greeted them. “You’re on the other side, Michelle, next to Tracey when Andrea and Bill get here. And Hannah? You’re next to…”
“I know,” Hannah interrupted her mother.
“I have something for you in my car,” Delores said, and then she smiled. “Actually, it’s for my grandcat. It’s that umbrella stand you wanted for Moishe. Andrea bought it at the auction for you.”
“Great!” Hannah was pleased. The giant gargoyle-like mice might keep Moishe amused for a while. “I hope she didn’t pay too much.”
“She paid a dollar. No one else bid on it. I only have one caveat before I hand it over to you, dear.”
“What’s that, Mother?”
“You hide it in the closet when I come over. It’s the most hideous thing I’ve ever seen.”
Hannah was saved from making that promise by the arrival of Andrea, Bill, and Tracey. Once everyone had been properly greeted, they took the places Delores indicated, and then Bill turned to Hannah.
“Thank you, Hannah,” he said.
“For what?”
“For planting the seeds of doubt in my mind. I was so bowled over by Tachyon’s offer, I didn’t even think to question it. You were absolutely right. They called me. I never called them.”
“Was the offer legitimate?” Hannah held her breath. She wasn’t sure whether she hoped it was or it wasn’t.
“Tachyon never heard of the person who offered Bill the job,” Andrea answered. “It was all a l
“And now that Professor Ramsey’s killer is behind bars, I’ve got Mike and Lonnie making inquiries to find out who made the calls and why,” Bill picked up the explanation. “That idea you had about someone who wants to discredit me is a good one.”
“We’re going to tap Bill’s home phone,” Mike said. “We think we might be able to trace the call if Bill keeps
