Red Velvet Cupcake Murder Read Online Free PDF Page B

would have been impossible to achieve in a tanning booth or in the short length of time the Minnesota weather had permitted. Aruba, St. Thomas, St. Croix, or some other tropical vacation spot? Hannah’s mind suggested and she gave a slight nod. Roger was handsome and Bev was stunningly pretty. They were the golden couple.
    “Here come Mike and Bill,” Barbara said, gesturing toward the doorway. “And Norman’s there, too.”
    Hannah turned to look. Three men were standing in the doorway. One man was her date for the evening, another was the man she also dated and the chief detective at the Winnetka County Sheriff’s Department, and the third was her brother-in-law and Andrea’s husband, Bill Todd.
    Andrea gave a wave and the three men threaded their way across the room toward their table. A few steps and it was apparent that this could take a while. Everyone who saw them wanted to say hello and their progress was slow.
    “Did you see the luxury condos?” Barbara asked Andrea.
    “Yes. Roger listed them with Stan and I’m handling the sales. I took Hannah up there when we got here.”
    “I’ve been hearing all sorts of things about the penthouse. Bill said it’s got a grotto pool and a Jacuzzi.”
    “You should see it, Barbara. It’s spectacular.”
    “Especially the tropical rooftop garden,” Hannah added. “It covers half of the roof and the landscaping is already in. Andrea told me they’re even going to order a couple of fully grown palm trees.”
    “Will palm trees grow in Minnesota?” Barbara asked, looking dubious.
    “They will if you have a climate-controlled dome that covers the whole area,” Andrea was quick to explain.
    “I can hardly wait to see it!” Barbara took another sip of her diet drink. “I wonder if I could see my house from up there.”
    “I know you can, but not tonight. The dome didn’t come in time for the party, and Roger’s got the perimeter roped off. You can walk around the pool and Jacuzzi area, but you can’t go near the edge of the roof.”
    “I think I’ll go up there and look around. And I’ll stop and look at the condos on the second floor, too. I know I can’t afford one, but it never hurts to dream.” Barbara picked up her glass, stood up, and turned to Hannah. “The next time you check on the dessert table, would you bring me one of your cupcakes? I ran into Herb in the parking lot and he said they’re incredible.”
    “Will do,” Hannah promised with a smile. It was good to hear praise for their cupcakes. She went off to get one for Barbara and to tell Lisa that people were beginning to say nice things about their cupcakes. By the time she came back and sat down, Norman and Mike were approaching the table.
    “Hi, Hannah,” Norman said, taking the chair next to her. “You look fantastic.”
    “Thanks, Norman.”
    “You’re wearing makeup,” Mike commented. “You look really good in makeup.”
    “Hannah looks good with or without makeup,” Norman corrected him.
    “Right,” Mike said, sitting down next to Hannah. “I’ve got news about the Clayton Wallace case.”
    Hannah leaned forward expectantly. Clayton Wallace, the band bus driver for the Cinnamon Roll Six, had been the first fatality in the multi-car pileup on the interstate two months ago. Doc Knight had determined that the cause of death was an overdose of heart medication. “It was accidental, wasn’t it?”
    “No.”
    “Murder?” Norman asked, drawing the obvious conclusion.
    Mike shook his head and Hannah breathed a sigh of relief. Since there had been two fatalities on the same night and one was clearly murder, she’d made a unilateral decision to try to solve the case they knew was murder and to leave the investigation into Clayton Wallace’s death to the authorities.
    Hannah had never believed that Clayton’s death was murder. It just didn’t add up. Everyone she’d talked to had believed it was an accident. He’d been the jazz band bus driver since the Cinnamon