Lemon Meringue Pie Murder Part 32

"I'll give it to you. It works on chicken, too. All you have to do is double the mustard and cut back on the grated onion by half."

Hannah glanced from one man to the other, trying to keep herself from chuckling. They sounded like a couple of housewives comparing notes and even though they'd both wanted to sit with her, they seemed content to talk to each other and ignore her. She let them talk on, comparing the merits of LEMON MERINGUE PIE MURDER 291.

charcoal over gas and which wood chips were preferable, while she glanced around at the crowds of people who were contentedly stuffing their collective faces.

The sun was lowering in the sky and Hannah knew she'd have to run back to her truck to get her mosquito repellent. That reminded her that they never bit Norman, and she turned to Mike. "Do mosquitoes bite you?"

"Mosquitoes?" Mike looked startled, as if she'd pulled him out of the most intriguing conversation of his life. "Sure. They bite everybody."

"Not Norman."

"Is that right?" Mike leaned in front of Hannah to stare at Norman. "What's your secret, Norman?"

Oh-oh. She'd started an all-male conversation again. Hannah sighed and turned back to people-gazing. Freddy Sawyer, dressed in jeans and a blue pullover with a picture of an American Eagle on the front, was leaning against a tree at the edge of the picnic area. Hannah was glad to see him here. Freddy had once told Hannah that the Fourth of July was his favorite holiday and he loved to watch the fireworks. Jed was only a few feet away, talking to a group of people Hannah didn't recognize. He looked handsome tonight in a white cotton shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a denim vest that was embroidered with stars and stripes. It looked expensive and Hannah wondered if he'd spent his whole paycheck on it.

A young woman in the group was flirting with Jed and he smiled at her as she reached out to put her hand on his arm. Although he was clearly flirting back, Hannah was glad to see him turn slightly, so that he could keep Freddy in sight. Jed was taking his responsibility toward his cousin seriously, keeping tabs on him in the crowd.

Several children in the crowd began to cheer and Hannah turned toward the source of the excitement. The Lake Eden volunteer fire department had arrived in their fire truck. The hook and ladder was followed by one of Cyril Murphy's dark green rental vans with light green shamrocks painted on the 292 sides. Any child in the crowd old enough to remember the fireworks from the previous year knew that the van contained all the pyrotechnics for tonight's display.

Hannah glanced over at the food tables. There were only a few stragglers going back for thirds. It was time to start putting the food away. She stood up, and both men stopped talking and turned to her. "I'm going to help Edna with the cleanup."

"Sure," Mike said.

"Okay," Norman echoed the sentiment. "Do you need any help?"

"No, that's okay." Hannah headed off at a speedy clip, but not fast enough to miss hearing another all-male conversation begin. This one was about cars and the various advantages of the latest models.

By the time Hannah had helped with the cleanup and made a run to her truck to mosquito-proof herself and retrieve her quilt, she saw a fleet of rowboats heading out from the dock. The boats were riding low in the water and Hannah knew that the fireworks had been unloaded from the van and stacked in the bottom of the rowboats for transport to the rafts that would become launching pads. Most people in the tri-county area thought that the Lake Eden fireworks display was the best one around. The town council spent a small fortune every year on fireworks and the display seemed twice as large as it really was when the streamers of bursting colors were reflected off the surface of the lake. She found Mike and Norman on the lakesh.o.r.e, sitting on the sand and claiming their patch of spectator s.p.a.ce. They helped her spread out her quilt and before long the whole extended family had found s.p.a.ces around them.

Darkness began to fall. Hannah could see dim lights, one on each of the rafts and more in the rowboats. She was sure that Joe Dietz was out there again this year. A retired warrant officer in Army Ordnance, Joe was in his seventies and he'd been directing the fireworks for as long as Hannah could remember. She spotted Jed moving through the crowd with a LEMON MERINGUE PIE MURDER.

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blanket roll under his arm. He'd put on a leather jacket over his shirt and vest, and Hannah wished she'd thought to bring hers. It wouldn't be needed in town, but there was always a breeze near the lake and it could turn chilly when the last rays of sun had faded. For a moment, Hannah was concerned that Freddy was nowhere in sight, but then she remembered the group that Jed had been talking to earlier and how friendly they'd seemed. Freddy and the group were probably sitting on the sand, saving a place for the blanket that Jed had gone to fetch.

Once the sun had disappeared below the horizon, night fell rapidly. Hannah crossed her legs and sat "Indian style," a phrase her first-grade teacher had used that was probably now politically incorrect.

Before Hannah really expected it, the fireworks began with a bang. It was a single bang and it was a loud one, causing her hands to fly up to cover her ears. She jumped, then laughed in delight. The Lake Eden fireworks always started this way, but it never failed to startle her.

The first loud bang was followed by a rapid series of bangs. Next there was a whoosh as a rocket shot up and burst overhead, raining down streamers of pink that were reflected on the surface of the lake. Hannah cheered with the rest of the crowd and at that exact moment, Norman reached out for her hand. A moment later, as a green blossom of fireworks burst in the sky, Mike reached out for her other hand.

Hannah sat there, hardly daring to breathe. What was the etiquette in a situation like this? Should she tell Mike she couldn't hold hands with him because she was already holding hands with Norman? Or should she refuse to hold hands with both of them? Hannah thought about it through another series of rockets and multicolored streamers and came to a decision. Miss Manners was bound to disagree, but since neither Mike nor Norman seemed to be aware that his rival was holding her hand, the best thing to do was relax and enjoy it.

The crowd gave a collective gasp and then a prolonged 294 "Oooooh" as two more pyrotechnic stars burst overhead, one red and one blue. Joe Dietz was doing a good job of mixing large displays with the smaller displays to make the fireworks last as long as possible. It was a perfect evening for the show. There was a light breeze that cleared away the smoke, so each flash looked as brilliant against the night sky as the one that had come before it.

They were only five minutes into the fireworks show when Mike's police radio crackled and he held it up against his ear. He listened for a moment, responded with an "On my way," and turned to Hannah. "They called me in. There's a six-car pileup out on the highway with a bus involved."

Mike stood up and no more than a second later, so did Lonnie. Another moment and Bill also got to his feet "They called everyone hi?" Hannah asked.

"Everyone. It's a bad one." Mike turned to Norman. "Have you seen Doc Knight? The dispatcher said she couldn't reach him on his pager."

"He was talking to Edna a couple of minutes ago," Norman said.

"Can you find him and tell him to go straight to the hospital? County's setting up triage out there and they'll be sending him some casualties."

"I'll find him and then I'll drive out. If you have any facial injuries, I can help. Where's the accident?"

"Two miles south of the Lake Eden turnoff. Thanks, Norman." Mike motioned to Bill and Lonnie. "I brought the squad car. You can ride with me."

In less time than it took to swat a mosquito, Hannah's two Lotharios had deserted her and she was left sitting in the center of her quilt alone. Mich.e.l.le was also alone, now that Lonnie had left, and so was Andrea.

"If you marry a cop, you go through a lot of nights alone," Andrea commented with a sharp glance at Mich.e.l.le. "You don't have to like it, but you do have to cope with it."

Hannah didn't like the way this conversation was starting. As far as she was concerned, Lonnie was a better choice for LEMON MERINGUE PIE MURDER.

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Mich.e.l.le^s boyfriend than the guy from New York who didn't know beans about small-town life and thought Mich.e.l.le's descriptions of her hometown were humorous. She was about to horn in and change the subject when Delores reached back to tap her on the arm.

"Do you have an extra sweater in your truck, Hannah? It's getting a little chilly."

Hannah hesitated. If she offered her mother the ratty old hooded sweatshirt she carried in the back of her truck, it would lead to a long lecture about revising her wardrobe and weeding out the clothing that wasn't fit to be worn. "No, but I'll run to the cottage and get you a sweater."

"But you'll miss the fireworks."

"Not if I walk along the sh.o.r.eline. I can see it just fine from there. And the cottage is only about a block away."

"Well, if you're sure you don't mind___No! I've changed my mind! I don't want you to go, Hannah!"

"Why not?" Her mother had sounded panicked.

"Because ... well..." Delores leaned back and turned her head to whisper, "The killer could be out there."

"Don't worry, Mother. The sh.o.r.e is crowded with people. He wouldn't attack me in front of all those witnesses."

"But they wouldn't be witnesses, not if they were looking up at the sky. And fireworks is perfect cover for a gunshot with all the banging and booming."

"Things like that only happen in the movies." Hannah was amused. Her mother was well intentioned, but totally irrational. "Besides, there wouldn't be a gunshot because the killer doesn't use a gun. Rhonda was stabbed, not shot."

"You're right. I forgot about that." Delores sighed deeply. "Do you think I'm overreacting?"

"Yes, Mother."

"Well... you're probably right, but you'd better stay here. I'd just worry the entire time you were gone."

"I'll go along with Hannah," Mich.e.l.le offered. "There's no way anyone would take on both of us. That would make you feel better, wouldn't it, Mother?"

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"Much better," Delores said, and she sounded very relieved. "And while you're there, you can put on the coffee. It would be nice to have a cup when the fireworks are over. And thaw that coffee cake I stuck in the freezer. Ten minutes in the microwave on defrost should do it. And would you carry out the garbage on your way back? I forgot to do it when I left."

"Sure, Mother," Hannah said, grabbing Mich.e.l.le's hand and making a quick getaway before their mother could think of more tasks for them to do.

Chapter Twenty-Eight.

64VT Te're done," Hannah said, gathering up the sweater W they'd initially been sent to fetch and switching on the coffeepot. "Are you ready?"

"I'm ready." Mich.e.l.le came out of her room wearing a sweatshirt and a pair of jeans.

Hannah opened the front door and they both stepped out. "I'm locking it. Do you have the key?"

"I've got it." Mich.e.l.le whistled as a multicolored shower of streamers shot across the sky. "That was pretty spectacular. Is it the finale?"

Hannah glanced at her watch as another fiery flower blossomed in the sky. "Not yet. The show is supposed to run forty minutes this year. We've still got over twenty minutes left."

The two sisters climbed down the steps to the sh.o.r.e by the light of the fireworks that were bursting in the sky. As they reached the bottom, a huge white shower rained down and Mich.e.l.le gasped. "What's that, Hannah?"

"What's what?"

"That big thing sticking out under the dock. It wasn't there this afternoon."

"I don't know, but I'll find out." Hannah walked closer 298.

and waited until another shower of lights illuminated the area. Her voice was sharp as she spoke again. "Is there a flashlight in the cottage?"

"Yes, Mother keeps one in the kitchen.**

"Go get it and bring it down here."

Mich.e.l.le turned and walked toward the steps. "Okay, but what is it?"

"Just get the flashlight, okay?"

The fates were kind and another volley of fireworks burst in the sky after Mich.e.l.le had left. Hannah reached out toward the object and shuddered as she realized that the "thing" Mich.e.l.le had seen was someone's leg. Delores hadn't been so crazy after all when she'd warned Hannah not to come here alone. Hannah stared at the leg for a moment and then she gave a deep sigh. There was only one thing to do and she was the only one here right now to do it.

It took all the strength that Hannah possessed, but she managed to free the ominously still form from its watery prison under the dock and pull it up onto the sh.o.r.e. By the time Mich.e.l.le got back with the flashlight, Hannah had flipped it over. "Shine the flashlight, Mich.e.l.le."

Mich.e.l.le turned on the flashlight and both sisters stared at the inert figure for a moment, the beam of light illuminating the b.l.o.o.d.y wound on Freddy Sawyer's head.

"Is he dead?" Mich.e.l.le asked, her voice shaking.

"Only one way to find out." Hannah dropped to her knees and felt for a pulse. "Not yet, but it doesn't look good. Run back to the cabin and call for an ambulance fast."

"But there aren't any. Lonnie said they were all called out to that accident out on the highway."

"Right." Hannah shook her head to clear it. The sight of Freddy's still face and the awful wound on his head had rattled her. "Okay. I'll take him to the hospital myself. I hate to ask, but can you stay here with him while I get my truck?"

"I'll stay," Mich.e.l.le said.

Her baby sister sounded calm and that rea.s.sured Hannah. "Okay, I'll be back just as fast as I can. Don't try to move LEMON MERINGUE PIE MURDER 299.

him. If he starts to thrash around, talk to him and do your best to hold him still. We don't want that cut on his head to open up and start bleeding again."

Hannah raced for her truck and made short work of driving it down to the sh.o.r.eline. She backed up as close as she could, opened the rear doors, and got out to find Mich.e.l.le still sitting right where she'd left her, holding Freddy's hand. "Pulse?"

"It's still there." Mich.e.l.le stood up and Hannah noticed that there were traces of tears on her cheeks. "How are we going to load him in?"

"Sideways. I'll take his head and shoulders and you take his legs. If he's too heavy for you, holler out and we'll put him back down."

"I can do it," Mich.e.l.le said, and she knelt by Freddy's feet.

Hannah was about to lift Freddy's shoulders when she caught a whiff of a telltale odor. "Do you smell anything, Mich.e.l.le?"

"Yes, booze. Do you think Freddy got drunk and hit his head when he pa.s.sed out under our dock?"

"I don't know, but it's a possibility. I'm ready to lift if you are."

It wasn't easy, but between the two of them they managed to load Freddy into the back of Hannah's cookie truck. Hannah cushioned his head with the ratty old hooded sweatshirt her mother would have advised her to throw out, and shut the rear doors. "I'll drive him straight to the hospital. Call and tell them I'm coming. Say it's Freddy Sawyer and he's got a bad head wound. They should meet me at the emergency entrance with a stretcher."

"Okay, but don't you want me to ride along to help?"

"You don't have any medical training that I don't know about, do you?"

"No."

"Then you're better off here. Make that call to the hospital and then go and tell Andrea and Mother what happened. I want all of you to look for Jed Sawyer and tell him that I'm 300.

driving Freddy to the hospital. I'll call the cottage as soon as I have any news on his condition."

"Got it," Mich.e.l.le said. "Good luck, Hannah."

Hannah got in behind the wheel and lowered the window.

"You're really great in a crisis, Mich.e.l.le."

"Thanks." Mich.e.l.le gave a little smile. "I think I must have inherited that from you."

By the time Hannah took the turnoff for the Lake Eden Memorial emergency entrance, her nerves were shot. She'd driven a distance of only ten miles, but it had been gruesome. Freddy had cried out and mumbled from the back of her truck and what she'd been able to understand had been heartbreaking. Freddy was upset because Jed was mad at him. Jed hated him and thought that Freddy was stupid. If Freddy could only get that present back for Jed, then Jed might forgive him and not go away. Then they could be friends again and everything would be all right.

Hannah had attempted to talk back to Freddy to rea.s.sure him, but she didn't think he'd heard her. He'd just gone back to the mumbling again about how he had to give Jed the present.

About five miles from the hospital, Freddy had stopped mumbling. He'd groaned once or twice, and then he'd been disturbingly quiet. While Hannah had been hoping that Freddy would calm down and stop mumbling, his total silence had been worse. Hannah had tromped on the accelerator and prayed that he'd only lost consciousness and not died.